^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  *^ 


Presented  by  \  srjo,^  \  cX     r-\ A-  \  c:7\-V-A- O  x-^ 

BX  8   .W4  ' 
Wells,  Amos  Russel,  1862- 
1933  . 

That  they  all  may  be  one 


Digitized  by 

tine  Internet  Arclnive 

in  2015 

lnttps://arclnive.org/details/tlnattlneyallmaybeOOwell_0 


That  They  All 
May  Be 
One 


AMOS  R.  WELLS 


FUNK  H  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

■.9°S 


Copyright,  1905,  by 
FUNK  &  WAGNALI,S  COMPANY 
{Prinled  in  the  United  States  of  America^ 
Published  September,  1905 


H  prater 


SENT  OUT  OVER  JAPAN  IN  1900  BY  THE 
CONFERENCE  OF  MISSIONARIES  OF 
ALL  DENOMINATIONS  HELD  AT  TOKYO 


BlmigbtB  (5oC»,  our  fjeavenlg  ffatber, 
wbo  bast  purcbaseD  an  universal  Cburcb 
bg  tbe  precious  bloo&  of  ^Tbg  Son,  wetbanft 
Zbee  tbat  ^Tbou  bast  calleO  us  Into  tbe 
same,  and  ma£)e  us  members  of  Cbrlst, 
cbllOren  of  (3oD,  anO  Inberltors  of  tbe  "Rings 
Dom  of  IHeaven.  XooR  now,  we  beseecb 
ICbee,  upon  ZTbg  Cburcb,  anO  tahe  from  It 
division  anJ»  strife  an£)  wbatsoever  bln&ers 
©oOlB  union  anO  concorO.  jf  111  us  wltb  ITbg 
love,  anO  gulDe  us  bg  Cbg  Ibolg  Spirit  tbat 
we  mag  attain  to  tbat  oneness  for  wblcb 
XLb'e  Son,  our  XorD  5esus  Cbrlst,  prageO  on 
tbe  nlflbt  of  ttls  betragal,  wbo  wltb  ?rbee 
anb  tbe  t)olB  Spirit  llvetb  anb  relgnetb, 
one  (5oO,  wotlb  wltbout  enb.  Bmen. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

I  It  Is  Christ's  Longing   7 

TI  Organic  Union  17 

III  The  Preservation  of  Truth  .  .  26 

IV  Minor  Differences  34 

V  Conscientious  Convictions   ...  43 

VI  The  Home  Feeling  53 

VII  Working  Together  62 

VIII  The  Peace  of  the  Churches  .  .  72 

^    IX  Truth  Is  One  81 

X  The  Search  for  Truth  92 

XI  "Hush!    Hush!"  100 

XII  Churches  and  Men  108 

XIII  Union  Prayer-Meetings    .  .  .  .118 

XIV  Union  Bible  Schools  131 

XV  Union  Training- Schools  ....  141 

XVI  Union  Pastorates  151 

XVII  Church  Union  and  Church  Ex- 
tension  162 

XVIII  Church  Union  and  Patriotism  179 
XIX  The  United  Church  of  Christ  .  190 
XX  First  Steps  201 


That  They  All  May 
Be  One 


I 

It  Is  Christ's  Longing 

N  that  Upper  Room,  most  sacred 
presence-chamber  of  all  the  ages, 
just  before  He  passed  to  His 
suffering  and  death,  our  blessed 
Redeemer  lifted  up  His  eyes  to  heaven 
and  prayed.  For  Himself  He  prayed, 
for  the  glorious  completion  of  the  work 
He  came  to  do;  but  chiefly  for  His 
disciples  He  prayed,  those  in  that  room 
and  their  successors  throughout  time, 
that  they  might  be  kept  from  all  evil,  and 
have  His  joy  fulfilled  in  themselves. 

npliere  is  one  petition  in  this  great  pray- 
*■  er,  and  one  alone,  that  is  repeated 
over  and  over.  Clearly  foreseeing  what 
has  sadly  come  to  pass,  with  a  great  long- 
ing that  it  should  not  come  to  pass,  our 
Savior  i)rayed  that  llis  followers  might 
be  kept  from  schisni.and  that  1  lis  Church 
might  be  maintained  in  perfect  unity; 

7 


8 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


"f)olv?  ffatber,  ftccp  tbem  in  Cb^  name 
wbicb  Cbou  bast  given  me,  tbat  tbe^  mag 
be  one,  even  as  we  are.  .  .  .  'Weitber 
for  tbese  onlg  Do  t  prai?,  but  for  tbem  also 
tbat  beliere  on  me  tbrougb  tbeir  \vor&; 
tbat  tbes  ma?  all  be  one;  even  as  Cbou, 
ffatbet,  art  in  me.  an5  f  in  Cbee,  tbat  tbeg 
also  ma?  be  in  us :  tbat  tbe  worlD  ma?  bes 
lieve  tbat  Cbou  DiDst  sen&  me.  an5  tbe 
glor?  wbicb  Cbou  bast  given  me  1  bave 
given  unto  tbem ;  tbat  tbe?  ma?  be  one, 
even  as  we  are  one ;  f  in  tbem,  anD  Cbou 
in  me,  tbat  tbe?  ma?  be  perfected  into 
one ;  tbat  tbe  worl£>  ma?  hnow  tbat  Cbou 
DiDst  sent*  me,  and  loveDst  tbem,  even  as 
Cbou  loveDst  me." 

Decaiise  I  believe  with  all  my  heart 
^  that  my  Savior  prayed  that  prayer, 
because  I  believe  that  His  followers  are 
yet  ver}-  far  from  fulfilling  it,  and  be- 
cause I  know  that  this  must  be  a  sore 
grief  to  my  Lord,  I  have  set  out  this  day 
to  write  this  book.  May  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  Christ  direct  my  words,  and  make 
them  effectual  to  the  accomplishment  of 
His  desire. 

We  are  Christ's  friends,  if  we  do  the 
things  He  commands  us ;  if  we  do 
them  not,  we  are  His  enemies. 

If  we  love  Him,  we  shall  keep  His  com- 
*■  mandments ;  if  we  do  not  keep  them, 
we  shall  hate  Mini. 


It  Is  Christ's  Longing 


9 


If  we  love  Christ,  and  keep  His  Word, 
the  Father  will  love  us,  and  will  come 
to  us,  and  make  His  abode  with  us ;  but 
if  we  do  not  keep  His  Word,  our  house 
will  be  empty  of  God. 

If  any  one  loves  Christ,  the  least  ex- 
pression of  Christ's  desire  is  a  com- 
mand ;  if  it  is  a  repeated  expression,  if  it 
is  evidently  Christ's  great  longing,  how 
imperative  the  mandate  to  every  loving 
heart ! 

A Christian  is  known  by  his  sensitive- 
ness to  the  wish  of  his  Lord,  even  as 
friends  are  made  manifest  by  their  deli- 
cate responsiveness  to  each  other's  will. 
That  it  must  first  be  proved,  vitiates  it ; 
that  our  judgment  must  test  it,  condemns 
it ;  that  our  inclination  must  be  brought 
into  accord,  ruins  it ;  love  is  spontaneous, 
inevitable.  Certainly  as  in  a  mirror  face 
answers  to  face,  so  promptly  and  surely 
will  our  Savior's  least  desire  be  reflected 
in  the  desire  of  His  disciples. 

hrist  longs  for  His  disciples  that  they 
^  all  may  be  one.  Can  any  one  hon- 
estly say  that  that  longing  is  accomplish- 
ed? that  the  measure  of  inward  unity 
enjoyed  by  Christians  is  such  as  to  satisfy 
Christ  ?  that  it  even  approaches  the  unity 
of  Christ  and  the  Father?  that  the  pitiful 
disunion  outwardly  is  pleasing  to  our 
Lord?  that  it  is  not,  rather,  a  constant, 
heavy  sorrow  to  Him? 


lO 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


Where,  then,  is  our  love  for  Christ? 
Where  is  our  friendship  for  Him  ? 
Where  is  our  obedience  ? 

A  Christian  is  known  by  his  desire  to 
do  completely  the  will  of  Christ.  He 
does  not  wish  to  set  off  obedience  here 
against  disobedience  there.  Tho  in  ten 
thousand  ways  he  does  Christ's  will,  he  is 
dismayed  if  in  a  single  point,  however 
slight.  His  will  is  disregarded.  How 
if  in  a  point  that  Christ  regards  preemi- 
nent? Shall  our  Bible-study  and  teach- 
ing, our  open  churches,  our  missions,  our 
charities,  our  prayers,  shall  the  myriad 
Christly  deeds  of  the  Church  content  us, 
while  Christ  is  longing  for  His  disciples 
to  be  one  as  He  is  one  with  God,  and 
that  longing  is  unsatisfied? 

Where,  then,  is  our  love  for  Christ? 
Where  is  our  friendship  for  Him  ? 
Where  is  our  obedience? 

' '  \  A  /  e  do  not  see  the  way  into  this 
^  ^  unity." 

But  there  is  a  way  into  all  Christ's 
will.  He  is  the  Way.  As  v.-e  walk 
in  Him,  the  way  opens  out.  Thoughts  of 
method  have  no  place  in  the  presence  of 
Christ's  desire.  There  is  no  room  there 
except  for  obedience.  When  Christians 
in  their  hearts  are  filled  with  a  longing 
to  obey  Christ's  commantl  that  they  all 
may  be  one,  the  method  will  have  been 
discovered  ;  they  ivill  be  one. 


//  Is  Christ's  Longing 


II 


"It  is  an  ideal,  to  be  admired,  to  be 
i  anticipated  languidly,  perhaps  even 
to  be  striven  after  by  zealots,  but  we 
must  take  men  as  we  find  them." 

Alas !  alas !  Christ  had  to  take  men  as 
He  found  them ;  but  He  so  found 
them  that  henceforth  they  need  no  longer 
take  themselves  at  the  low  valuation  of 
their  inertia,  their  incompetence,  their 
clogging  sins,  but  at  the  reality  of  the 
new  life  born  in  them — His  fresh,  clear 
life,  to  which  all  that  is  Divine  is  imme- 
diately possible.  W'e  are  false  to  Christ's 
teachings  if  we  make  a  far-off  ideal  of 
any  of  His  desires  for  us.  Now  is  ever 
the  accepted  time  for  the  Divine  will. 
If  we  will  not  hear  His  voice  to-day,  it 
is  because  our  hearts  are  hard. 

A  s  Christ,  at  this  hour,  is  one  with  the 
^  Father,  and  needs  no  waiting  nor 
ever  has  needed  waiting  for  that  unity, 
so  at  this  hour  all  Christians  might  be 
one  with  one  another  and  with  Hini. 

\A/  ^  have  been  talking  too  long  about 
^  ^  the  way  to  do  it,  those  of  us  that 
are  eager  to  have  it  done.  There 
needs  no  method  where  there  is  yearn- 
ing. Determination  always  organizes 
itself.  When  Christians  once  under- 
stand Christ's  wish  that  they  be  one  as 
He  is  one  with  God  ;  when  they  perceive 
that  every  wish  of  Christ's  is  possible 
and  immediately  possible ;   when  they 


12 


That  They  AU  May  Be  One 


come  to  fear  their  Lord  enough  to  rec- 
ognize the  peril,  the  loss,  of  any  disobe- 
dience to  His  desire ;  when  they  come 
to  love  their  Lord  enough  to  make  His 
hunger  theirs  and  to  have  their  chief 
delight  in  His  blessed  will — on  that 
happy  day  the  result  will  be  reached, 
and  they  all  will  be  one. 

I  do  not  care — need  any  one  care  ? — how 
^  it  is  brought  about,  whether  by  the 
absolute  revolution  of  our  church  life, 
or  by  the  slow  transformation  of  it,  or  by 
its  retention  in  form  precisely  as  it  is.  If 
we  are  animated  by  this  spirit  of  love  to 
Christ  and  surrender  to  His  will,  it  will 
be  brought  about  in  the  way  that  is  best 
for  the  Church  and  the  world.  We  have 
only  to  look  to  our  spirits,  and  look  to 
Christ  for  the  way. 

In  mountain-climbing,  one  stumbles  and 
*  goes  astray  by  fixing  one's  eyes  on  the 
trail.  Keep  a  clear  head,  and  look  at 
the  guide ! 

And  so  this  book  shall  have  one  pur- 
pose, to  create  desire :  a  shame  that 
for  these  centuries  we  have  been  heed- 
less of  Christ's  longing;  a  swiftly  rising, 
uncontrollable  appetite  for  His  will ;  a 
realization  of  the  blessedness  of  it  that 
shall  make  us  as  eager  as  He  is  that  we 
all  may  be  one,  even  as  He  and  the  Fa- 
ther are  one. 


//  Is  Christ's  Longing 


13 


What  is  this  ideal?    How  is  Christ 
one  with  the  Father?    How  are 
Christ's  people  to  be  one? 

Christ  and  the  Father  are  separate 
personalities.  Christian  unity  is  not 
uniformity.  It  is  no  erasure  of  charac- 
ter into  blank  levelness.  Such  a  union 
would  destroy  communion.  Where  is 
there  a  greater  or  more  interesting  va- 
riety than  in  nature  ?  And  where  is  there 
a  more  perfect  union?  Were  Christians 
to  be  one  as  Christ  is  one  with  the  Father, 
they  would  not  lose  their  individuality, 
churches  and  denominations  would  not 
lose  their  individuality,  any  more  than 
Christ  lost  His  by  union  with  the  Father. 

But  "  I  and  the  Father  are  one."  We 
must  become  able  to  say  with  full 
conviction,  "  Baptist  and  Presbyterian 
are  one ;  Methodist  and  Lutheran  are 
one ;  Congregationalist  and  Episcopa- 
lian are  one." 

"lie  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
n  Father."  We  must  become  able 
to  say,  "  Have  you  seen  a  Baptist?  Then 
you  have  seen  a  Lutheran.  Have  you 
seen  a  Methodist?  Then  you  have  seen 
a  Presbyterian." 

"  A  11  things  that  are  mine  are  thine, 
^  and  thine  are  mine."  Methodist 
must  come  to  say  to  Baptist,  "  These 
churciies,  these  funds,  these  missions, 


14 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


this  equipment,  these  plans,  are  yours ; 
all  we  have  is  yours,  O  brothers,  and  we 
know  that  all  you  have  is  ours." 

"  'T^he  Father  abiding  in  me  doeth 
A  His  works."  "  I  can  of  myself 
do  nothing."  "  I  do  always  the  things 
that  are  pleasing  to  Him."  We  must 
come  into  such  a  love  for  one  another, 
such  an  understanding  of  one  another 
and  proud  delight  in  one  another,  that 
Presbyterian  shall  rejoice  to  say,  "  The 
Moravians  inspired  me  to  do  this  " ;  and 
Methodist  shall  exult  in  confessing, 
"  Without  the  Baptists  I  can  do  noth- 
ing " ;  and  Disciple  shall  be  proud  to 
claim,  I  do  always  the  things  that  are 
pleasing  to  the  Lutherans." 

"  If  I  glorify  myself,  my  glory  is  noth- 
ing ;  it  is  my  Father  that  glorifieth 
me."  Episcopalian  must  come  to  say 
with  gladness,  "  My  honor  is  from  the 
Wesleyans  " ;  and  Wesleyan  must  come 
to  say,  "  It  is  the  Friends  that  glorify 
me." 

My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  H-m  that 
sent  me,  and  to  accomplish  His 
work."  Presbyterian  must  come  to  say, 
"  It  is  my  meat  to  do  the  will  of  the 
Baptists,  and  to  finish  their  work." 

Christ  was  separate  from  the  Father 
only  the  better  to  do  a  certain  task. 
That  done,  he  returned  at  once  with  joy 
to  the  Father's  bosom.    So  Methodist 


It  Is  Christ's  Longing 


15 


and  Baptist  and  Presbyterian  and  the 
rest  will  act  independently  only  where 
the  necessities  of  the  work  require,  but 
will  hasten  back  with  rejoicing  to  the 
bosom  of  the  one  Church. 

Thus  are  Christ  and  the  Father  one. 
Are  the  denominations  thus  one  ?  No 
one  will  pretend  it.  But  they  should  be, 
and  will  be,  for  it  is  the  will  of  Christ. 

In  that  union  with  the  Father  our  Sa- 
*  vior  found  His  supreme,  His  only, 
joy.  He  came  to  earth  that  that  joy 
might  be  in  us.  In  that  union  with  the 
Father  our  Savior  found  His  glory, 
glory  which  He  enjoyed  before  the  world 
was.  He  came  into  the  world  that  that 
glory  might  be  ours.  It  is  His  longing 
for  us ;  shall  it  not  become  our  longing 
for  ourselves  ? 

/^h,  the  wisdom  of  the  will  of  Christ! 
^-^  Oh,  the  satisfaction  of  it,  tlie  power 
of  it!  And  oh,  the  infinite  peril  of  re- 
jecting it! 

Cor  it  is  like  the  air,  wliich  wraps  itself 
r  around  us  lovingly,  the  minister  to 
all  our  work  and  pleasure,  never  im- 
peding, never  obtrusive,  easily  thrust 
aside,  and  we  walk- oblivious  to  it;  but 
if  for  a  moment  wc  reject  it,  in  that 
moment  we  die. 


i6 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


here  is  much  in  Christ's  will  that  we 


in  disregarding  what  we  do  understand. 
There  is  much  of  Christ's  will  that  we 
have  understood  but  have  disregarded ; 
but  we  shall  never  get  it  done  at  all  if 
we  allow  failures  at  other  points  to  ex- 
cuse us  from  obedience  at  any  point. 

No ;  there  is  this  passionate  desire  of 
our  Redeemer.  Alas,  alas,  that  we 
have  neglected  it  so  coldly  and  so  long! 
Let  us  arise,  let  us  run  in  the  way  of 
His  wish,  and  let  us  never  rest  till  we 
have  fulfilled  His  prayer  and  His  com- 
mandment, 


understand ;  the  peril  is 


^bat  tbe^  all 
mai?  be 
one. 


II 

Organic  Union 


ET  us  have  fellowship  among 
the  denominations,"  some  say, 
"  but  not  federation."  "  Let 
us  have  federation,"  say  oth- 


ers, "  but  not  organic  union." 

'"phere  can  be  neither  fellowship  nor 
^  federation  without  organization. 
Both  fellowship  and  federation,  so  far 
as  they  are  vital  and  not  mere  dead 
names,  are  organic. 

It  is  the  organic  union  of  all  Christians 
that  is  urged  in  the  New  Testament, 
and  it  is  no  other  kind  of  union — if,  in- 
deed, any  other  kind  were  possible. 

Cor,  said  Paul,  in  his  immortal  analogy, 
as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  viany 
members,  and  all  the  members  of  the 
body,  being  many,  are  one  body;  so  also 
is  Christ.  For  in  one  Spirit  zvere  tve  all 
baptized  into  one  body,  whether  Jezvs  or 
Greeks,  whether  bond  or  free;  and  ivere 
all  made  to  drink  of  one  Spirit.  For  the 
body  is  not  one  member,  but  many.  If 
the  foot  shall  say,  Because  I  am  not  the 
hand.  I  am  not  of  the  body;  it  is  not 
therefore  not  of  the  body.  And  if  the 
car  shall  say,  Because  I  am  not  the  eye, 
I  am  not  of  the  body;  it  is  not  therefore 

17 


i8 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


not  of  the  body.  If  the  whole  body 
were  an  eye,  zvhere  ivere  the  hearing? 
If  the  whole  were  hearing,  where  were 
the  smelling?  But  nozv  hath  God  set  the 
members  each  one  of  them  in  the  body, 
even  as  it  pleased  Him.  And  if  they 
were  all  one  member,  where  were  the 
body?  But  noiv  they  are  many  mem- 
bers, but  one  body.  And  the  eye  can 
not  say  to  the  hand,  I  have  no  need  of 
thee:  or  again  the  head  to  the  feet,  I 
have  no  need  of  you.  N^ay,  much  rather, 
those  members  of  the  body  zvhich  seem 
to  be  more  feeble  are  necessary:  and 
those  parts  of  the  body,  zvhich  we  think 
to  be  less  honorable,  upon  these  we 
bestoiv  more  abundant  honor;  and  our 
uncomely  parts  have  more  abundant 
comeliness;  zvhereas  our  comely  parts 
have  no  need:  but  God  tempered  the 
body  together,  giving  more  abundant 
honor  to  that  part  zvhich  lacked;  that 
there  should  be  no  schism  in  the  body; 
but  that  the  members  should  have  the 
same  care  one  for  a)iothcr.  And  zvhether 
one  member  suffcreth,  all  the  members 
suffer  with  it;  or  one  member  is  hon- 
ored, all  the  members  rejoice  zvith  it. 
Now  ye  are  the  body  of  Christ,  and 
severally  members  thereof. 

At  this  point  some  may  wish  to  ob- 
ject: "  Paul  was  not  talking  of  de- 
nominations, hut  of  individual  Chris- 
tians in  local  churches." 


Organic  Union 


19 


ith  happy  reason  he  was  not  talk- 


had  not  yet  arisen.  We  know  with  what 
indignant  vigor  he  checked  the  begin- 
nings of  it  in  that  same  Corinth :  "  / 
am  of  Paid,  you  Corinthians  are  saying : 
/  of  Apollos;  I  of  Cephas.    Is  Christ 

DIVIDED  ?" 


"  "  existing  in  his  day,  can  we  not 
imagine  Paul's  dismay?  "Hath  Christ 
one  hundred  bodies?  " 

No ;  Paul's  ideal  of  the  Church  is  that 
it  is  one  body  of  the  Living  Lord, 
one  organism,  with  varied  parts. 

Paul's  analogy  is  as  strong  a  recog- 
nition of  the  need  of  differences 
among  Christians  as  it  is  a  plea  for 
vital  union.  Organic  union  implies 
organs.  All  life  is  organic,  has  organs 
as  its  instruments.  The  higher  the  life, 
the  more  numerous  and  complex  are  the 
organs.  Paul's  ideal  is  not  a  formless 
amaba.  a  bit  of  protoplasmic  jelly, 
thrusting  forth  a  portion  of  itself  for  an 
arm,  and  again  the  same  portion  perhaps 
for  a  leg,  and  anon,  very  likely,  the  same 
portion  for  a  stomach,  wrapping  it 
around  its  food.  Paul's  ideal  is  the 
highest  organism,  with  thoroughly  dif- 

*  We  have  really  in  t)ic  United  States  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  denominations,  but 
many  of  them  arc  very  small.  One  hundred, 
however,  is  far  below  the  sad  truth. 


denominations :  that  folly 


our  hundred  denominations  * 


20 


Tfut  They  All  May  Be  One 


ferentiated  and  permanent  organs,  not 
interchangeable,  and  measurably  inde- 
pendent, but  fed  from  the  one  life-foun- 
tain, and  linked  together  by  the  one  mesh 
of  sympathetic  nerves. 

Organic  union,  then,  is  not  identity. 
Some  bodies  of  Christians  are  full 
of  fire  and  fervor,  but  no  one  wants  to 
make  the  body  all  heart.  Other  denomi- 
nations are  more  cautious,  deliberate, 
and  thoughtful :  but  no  one  wants  to 
make  the  body  all  brain.  Still  other  de- 
nominations excel  in  preaching,  and 
others  in  missions,  and  others  in  chari- 
ties, and  others  in  the  reception  and 
adaptation  of  new  ideas ;  but  no  one 
wants  a  body  that  is  all  mouth,  or  feet, 
or  hands,  or  ears.  The  very  conception 
of  organic  union  is  an  implication  of 
diversity,  of  organs. 


*  and  less,  as  denominations  grow 
from  their  individualistic  beginnings,  can 
they  justly  be  characterized  by  any  one 
attribute.  As  I  write,  the  Presbyterians, 
popularly  deemed  argumentative  and 
scholastic,  are  engaged  more  widely  and 
aggressively  than  other  denominations 
in  evangelistic  work,  and  that  in  tents. 
The  Methodists  are  supposed  to  be  the 
people  of  fiery  impulse  and  unschooled 
enthusiasm,  but  theirs  is  the  only  Prot- 
estant university  in  the  city  of  Boston, 
the  Modern  Athens. 


must  be  fairly  said,  that  less 


Organic  Union 


21 


The  denominations  have  sprung  from 
necessities,  probably  the  hundred 
denominations  from  a  hundred  different 
necessities,  which  impressed  upon  them 
a  hundred  dififerent  individuahties ;  but 
as  time  and  the  work  of  these  same 
denominations  conquer  the  formative 
necessities,  the  denominations  inevitably 
lose  their  individualities.  They  come  to 
resemble  the  trees  of  a  great  grove,  their 
trunks  distinct,  but  their  branches  blend- 
ed in  a  sea  of  green. 

/^rganic  union,  if  it  is  to  be  vital,  is 


not  to  be  a  congeries  of  historic 
organs.  In  the  long  organizing  thought 
of  God,  I  am  told,  my  hand  has  been  the 
matted  claw  of  the  pterodactyl,  the  fin 
of  the  fish,  the  flipper  of  the  trilobite,  the 
jelly  of  the  amoeba ;  but  were  a  man  to  be 
born  now  with  a  fish's  fin,  he  would  be 
a  monster.  And  historic  denominations, 
whose  differentiating  characteristics  are 
historic  memories  rather  than  present- 
day  realities,  can  never  be  the  organs  of  a 
living  body  of  Christ. 

Organs,  however,  Christ's  body  must 
have,  men  and  groups  of  men  and 
vast  denominations  of  men,  whose  lik- 
ings and  fitnesses  point  them  to  one  task 
rather  than  another,  and  to  one  charac- 
teristic mode.  Let  no  one  speak  of  or- 
ganic union  as  implying  a  dead  level  of 
uniformity.  Only,  the  organs  must  be 
actual  and  not  phantasmic,  determined 


22 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


by  present  powers  and  not  by  the  memo- 
ries of  the  past. 

Out — and  this  is  the  truth  to  be  em- 
^  phasized — the  organs  must  be  unit- 
ed, or  there  is  no  organism. 

Were  Paul  speaking  now,  he  might 
say,  "  Ye  Christians,  how  have  ye 
dissected  the  body  of  Christ !  Are  the 
Methodists  the  heart?  To  what  purpose 
does  the  heart  beat  apart  from  the  body  ? 
Are  the  Presbyterians  the  brains?  To 
what  purpose  do  the  brains  think  in  a 
heap  by  themselves?  Are  the  Baptists 
the  missionary  feet,  the  Episcopalians 
the  ministering  hands,  the  Congregation- 
alists  the  eloquent  tongue?  But  I  see 
the  feet  in  one  pile,  and  the  hands  else- 
where, and  the  tongue  by  itself!  Dis- 
jecta membra,  and  not  the  glorious  body 
of  Christ !  Why,  not  even  His  robe  was 
torn  apart,  nor  a  bone  of  Him  broken, 
and  would  ye  dissect  Him  utterly?  " 

No;  even  granting,  as  Paul  would  not 
grant,  and  as  no  student  of  the 
Churches  would  grant,  that  the  denomi- 
nations as  they  exist  to-day  are  so  dif- 
ferentiated and  characterized  as  to  be 
workable  members  of  the  body  of  Christ, 
what  absurdity  is  their  present  sunder- 
ing !  Organs  must  be  united  or  they  are 
no  organs.  Sever  a  nerve  in  your  shoul- 
der, and  your  hand  and  arm  fall  limp, 
a  disorganized  mass  of  bone  and  muscle. 


Otyanic  Union 


23 


Clog  a  tiny  tube  in  your  neck,  and  your 
brain  instantly  ceases  to  tbink.  Spread 
a  bit  of  clotted  blood  over  a  corner  of 
your  brain,  and  your  heart  at  once 
ceases  to  beat.  There  are  no  organs, 
there  is  only  the  form  of  organs,  with- 
out vital  imion. 

The  ideal  of  Christian  fellowship,  of 
Church  federation,  that  many  enter- 
tain is  a  bundle  of  sticks  tied  together. 
The  sticks  can  be  broken  separately — 
for  they  remember  the  old  story — but 
the  bundle  can  not  be  broken. 

Brothers,  when  sticks  are  tied  into  fag- 
ots, it  is  not  that  they  be  broken,  but 
that  they  be  burned  !  What  an  ignoble 
symbol  for  the  Church  of  the  Living  God 
— a  bundle  of  dead  sticks ! 

Rather,  the  body,  the  bod}' !  One  pre- 
siding intelligence,  directing  every 
part  to  vigorous  deeds.  One  weaving 
sympathy,  that  all  may  sorrow  and  re- 
joice together,  and  move  in  harmony. 
One  well-poised  strength,  all  the  body 
fitly  framed  and  knit  together  through 
that  which  every  joint  supplieth.  And 
one  Spirit  of  the  Living  God  at  home  in 
every  organ,  in  one  no  more  than  another 
and  no  less  than  another,  rejoicing  in  the 
instrument  f)f  Ilis  will! 

Why  should  we  long  for  this  organic 
union  with  one  another  and  with 
Christ? 


24 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


Why  should  we  plan  for  it,  and  ad- 
mit no  plans  contrary  to  it?  Why 
should  we  work  toward  it,  slowly  though 
surely,  with  the  patient  enthusiasm  that 
never  consents  to  defeat? 

Because  it  would  be  the  climax  of  our 
splendid  Church  history,  the  con- 
sumation  of  our  Christian  evolution. 

Because  it  would  place  the  ability  of 
each  at  the  disposal  of  all  and  the 
power  of  all  at  the  disposal  of  each. 

Decause  it  would  combine  the  utmost 
'-^  flexibility  with  the  utmost  strength, 
absolute  freedom  with  perfect  stability. 

Because  it  would  inspire  every  Chris- 
tian with  the  momentum  of  the 
Church  Universal,  and  overbear  all  evil 
with  an  infinite  phalanx  of  good. 

Decause  it  would  be  the  maximum  of 
^  utilization  with  the  minimum  of  ma- 
chinery, the  most  results  with  the  least 
waste. 

Decause  it  would  transform  religious 
^  drudgery  to  religious  zest,  and  the 
aching  strain  of  a  dwarf  into  the  easy 
swing  of  a  giant. 

Because  it  would  put  the  Church  of 
Christ  in  harmony  with  the  organic 
union  of  nature  and  the  organic  union 
of  the  Triune  God. 


Organic  Union 


25 


Because — and  we  return  to  our  initial 
thought — because  it  is  the  will  of 
Christ,  who  desires  all  good  for  His 
churches,  and  nothing  but  good  for  them 
— it  is  His  loving  will 

ZTbat  tbe^  all 
mai?  be 
one. 


Ill 


The  Preservation  of  Truth 

T""""  HE  advocates  of  the  present  de- 
nominational disunion  are  pro- 
foundly  illogicah 


With  one  breath  they  say,  "  These 
schisms  in  the  body  of  Christ  are 
necessary  in  order  to  preserve  in  their 
purity  great  fundamental  principles  of 
faith  and  belief." 

With  another  breath  they  say,  "  There 
is  no  schism  in  the  body  of  Christ, 
for  the  denominations  are  one  in  the 
great  fundamentals,  and  differ  only  in 
minor  matters  of  doctrine  and  prefer- 
ences for  modes  of  administration." 

It  is  vmnecessary  to  combat  propositions 
that  are  mutually  destructive. 

And  yet,  since  men  may  make  choice 
between  the  two,  let  it  be  said  that 
neither  argument  is  a  just  excuse  for  the 
sundering  of  the  members  of  Christ's 
one  body. 

Cor,  in  the  first  place,  the  denomina- 
*  tional  divisions  do  not,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  tend  to  purity  of  doctrine.  The 
denominations  that  are  loosely  organized 
are  as  firm  in  their  adherence  to  their 
26 


The  Preservation  of  Truth 


27 


principles  (or  as  lax)  as  the  denomina- 
tions organized  most  compactly.  The  de- 
nominations that  mingle  most  freely  with 
other  bodies,  and  hold  themselves  most 
open  to  the  world — nay.  make  Church 
union  a  fundamental  article  of  faith  and 
desire — are  as  tenacious  of  doctrine  as 
the  denominations  that  are  most  exclu- 
sive. 

Moreover,  within  each  denomination, 
whatever  its  tenets,  there  spring 
up  inevitably  wide  diversities  of  views — 
Broad  Church,  Narrow  Church,  High 
Church  and  Low — till  often  the  distance 
between  the  wings  of  a  denomination  is 
greater  than  parts  several  denominations 
outside. 

P  urther,  the  characteristics  of  the  de- 
1  nominations  that  are  most  perma- 
nent and  prominent  are  not  doctrinal  but 
temperamental,  matters  of  fashion  and 
caste,  the  attitude  toward  others  and  the 
attitude  of  others  toward  the  denomina- 
tion. These  characteristics  are  often  ac- 
cidental, and  they  are  often  mere  popu- 
lar fancies.  "  The  shouting  Methodists," 
we  say,  tho  in  most  communities  the 
Methodists  arc  as  staid  as  the  Presby- 
terians ;  but  while  not  one  in  a  thousand 
could  tell  a  single  doctrine  for  which 
Methodism  stands,  all  of  the  thousand 
attach  to  Methodism  the  idea  of  enthu- 
siasm. "  Cold  Presbyterians,"  we  sav, 
tho  modern  I'resbytcrians  are  among  the 


28 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


most  enthusiastic  of  the  sects ;  but  the 
epithet  sticks,  with  the  implication  of 
scholarly  reserve,  in  the  minds  of  the 
great  majority  who  could  not  name  one 
point  of  Calvinism.  In  a  similar  way 
the  Episcopal  Church  is  held  to  be  fash- 
ionable and  exclusive,  in  spite  of  West- 
ern cabin  and  saddlebag  missionaries, 
in  spite  of  Whipple  and  Patteson ;  and 
those  adjectives  remain  the  characteris- 
tics of  that  Church  in  the  minds  of  most 
men,  who  have  never  heard  of  the  Thir- 
ty-nine Articles. 

And  still  further,  even  if  the  disunion 
of  the  Churches  did  tend  to  purity 
of  doctrine  in  fundamentals,  how  un- 
generous and  ill-advised  the  mode !  For 
it  could  act  only  by  the  expulsion  of  here- 
tics from  the  small  body  of  true  believers, 
and  thrusting  them  out  to  infect  other 
denominations  and  the  world.  That  this 
is  continually  the  result  of  any  attempt 
to  band  together  in  isolation  a  body  of 
correct  thinkers,  has  been  attested  by  the 
experience  of  all  observers.  How  often 
we  have  seen  a  denomination  solemnly 
decide  that  such  a  man  is  a  corrupter  of 
doctrine,  exile  him  forthwith  from  the 
surroundings  supposed  to  be  most  im- 
pregnable against  the  infection,  and  push 
him  out  into  the  precise  environment 
where  the  heresy  will  most  rapidly  grow. 
Thus  the  very  machinery  of  theological 
conservatism  scatters  the  seeds  of  radi- 
calism.   The  unbrotherly  process  often 


The  Presei'haHon  of  Truth 


29 


has  such  a  sequel  as  the  driving  of  Euro- 
pean anarchists  to  America,  where  they 
find  the  more  freedom  for  their  plots, 
and  return  thence  occasionally  to  assas- 
sinate the  rulers  that  forced  them  into 
exile. 

'Tpruth  is  never  best  preserved  by  iso- 


^  lation.  Nothing  worth  preserving 
is.  When  isolation  is  necessary,  it  is  a 
token  of  approaching  extinction,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  slender  companies  of 
buffaloes,  assiduously  guarded  as  the 
sole  remnants  of  continental  herds.  Who 
thinks  that  the  Indians,  if  given  a  State 
to  themselves,  would  regain  their  ancient 
dominion  of  America  ?  Caged  truth  is 
doomed  truth.  Truth  gains  virility  and 
empire  only  through  freedom. 


he  choice  doctrines  that  I  love  I 


*  would  not  have  espoused  by  a  sect, 
for  that  espousal  at  once  draws  a  fence 
around  them.  I  would  have  them  run 
among  men,  and  find  currency  with  the 
flowing  air. 

Some,  to  take  a  crude  example,  have 
believed  that  our  Lord  intended  to 
establish  as  an  ordinance  the  literal  wash- 
ing of  feet.  In  glad  obedience  to  what 
they  deem  their  Savior's  will,  and  in 
the  healthful  practise  of  humility,  these 
believers  have  formed,  all  through  the 
centuries  here  and  there,  little  sects  of 
quaint  communicants  who  have  statedly 
washed  one  another's  feet. 


30 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


Now  if  I  believed  as  they  do,  I  would 
go  forth  to  all  men,  Alethodist  and 
Anglican,  Romanist  and  Congregation- 
alist,  Unitarian  and  Moravian,  and  preach 
the  duty  and  privilege  of  feet-washing. 
And  as  I  made  converts  I  would  say, 
"  Remain  where  you  are,  and  win  to  the 
washing  of  feet  all  the  Methodists,  and 
all  the  Church  of  England." 

Conventions  of  Feet-washers?  Yes. 
A  Brotherhood  of  the  Basin?  Per- 
haps. The  Weekly  Witness  of  Washing? 
Undoubtedly.  All  modes  of  advertising 
and  propagating  the  belief  I  held  sacred ; 
but  not  the  suicidal  restriction  of  it,  not 
the  withdrawal  of  my  followers  from 
their  circles  of  possible  influence. 

To  be  sure,  in  the  open  tournament  I 
might  myself  go  down ;  in  the  clash 
of  minds  my  followers  and  myself  might 
become  the  conquered,  might  be  led  to 
the  spirit  rather  than  the  letter  of  Christ's 
lovely  act. 

But,  even  so,  and  so  all  the  more,  I  say, 
truth  never  needs  isolation ;  for  I 
and  my  followers  would  be  converted  to 
truth.  Half-truth  needs  the  wall.  Per- 
verted truth  is  maintained  by  fences.  If 
a  gardener  hits  on  a  monstrosity  in  the 
vegetable  kingdom  he  can  propagate  it 
only  by  isolation.  But  the  true  type,  the 
basal  species,  let  it  run  wild ! 


The  Preset^ation  of  Truth 


31 


This  distrust  of  truth,  as  if  it  could 
not  care  for  itself,  is  paralleled 
among  the  sectaries  by  an  equally  pro- 
found distrust  of  men  and  their  capacity 
for  truth.  With  a  strange  confusion  of 
thought,  they  expect  their  ideas  to  con- 
quer the  world,  but  will  not  commit  them 
to  the  world.  They  hold  their  truths  to 
be  self-evident,  but  will  not  allow  them 
to  be  their  own  evidence.  They  talk  of 
regnant  truth,  but  tie  their  King  in  a 
kennel. 

How  boldly  the  great  discoverers  have 
flung  out  their  discoveries  among 
the  multitude,  that  all  might  grasp  them 
who  would !  Was  a  sect  of  the  Galileans 
founded  to  preserve  and  propagate  the 
fundamental  truth  of  astronomy?  Was 
a  Society  of  Newtonians  established  to 
vindicate  the  law  of  gravitation?  Did 
the  Franklinites  withdraw  into  the  wil- 
derness to  preach  the  doctrine  of  elec- 
tricity ? 

A  nd  who  among  all  these  confident 


heroes  of  truth  has  trusted  the  peo- 
ple as  He  trusted  them  who  is  the 
Truth?  No  doctrines  so  important  as 
His,  so  revolutionary,  so  fiercely  fought, 
so  needing,  as  weak  men  would  think, 
the  defense  of  isolation.  But  the  disciples 
were  called  Christians  first  at  Antioch, 
and  not  where  Christ  ever  trod.  Christ 
was  a  Jew,  and  His  disciples  were  and 
remained  Jews,  and  the  synagogs  were 


32  Thai  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


His  churches,  and  the  Temple  was  His 
Father's  house,  and  His  doctrine  was 
thrust  forth  as  leaven  in  three  measures 
of  meal,  till  the  whole  was  leavened. 


fulfil.  In  not  a  word  of  His  utter- 
ances is  there  a  hint  that  He  contem- 
plated the  establishment  of  a  Church 
outside  the  Jewish.  The  rock  upon  which 
His  Church  was  to  be  built  was  Peter's 
confession  of  Him  as  the  Jewish  Mes- 
siah. The  New  Covenant  in  His  blood 
was  the  fulfilment  and  continuation  of 
the  Old  Covenant  in  the  blood  of  the 
passover  lamb.  The  stone  which  the 
builders  rejected  was  to  become  the  head 
of  the  corner,  but  in  the  ancient  temple 
and  not  in  a  new  one.  Salvation  was  of 
the  Jews,  and  He  was  not  sent  but  to  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel. 

And  then,  when  the  foes  of  the  new 
truth  proved  to  be  they  of  its  own 
household  ;  when  the  apostles,  repeatedly 
rejected  by  the  Jews,  turned  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, they  were  only  grafting  in  new 
branches,  they  were  not  making  a  schism 
in  the  one  Church.  Still  the  true  Chis- 
tian  is  a  faithful  Jew,  and  we  are  veri- 
table children  of  Abraham. 

Those  that  trust  truth  as  Christ  trusted 
it  will  say  with  him,  "  Go  ye  into  all 
the  world  and  preach  the  truth  to  every 
creature,"  and  they  will  not  add,  as  He 


came  not  to  destroy  but  to 


The  Prese/hation  of  Truth 


33 


assuredly  did  not  add,  "  Those  that  re- 
ceive the  truth  ye  shall  gather  by  them- 
selves, lest  the  truth  be  weakened  by 
dilution  or  defiled  by  common  contact  or 
worn  by  attrition  or  conquered  and  over- 
whelmed by  its  foes." 

The  greater  the  truth  the  more  abso- 
lute and  implicit  may  be  our  confi- 
dence in  it,  and  the  more  certain  we  may 
be  that  it  needs  no  artificial  hedge  to 
protect  it. 


tion,  knights-errant  of  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven,  do  not  suffer  \ourselves 
to  become  knights-fenestrant !  Out  into 
the  open,  into  the  fenceless  forests  and 
moors,  the  Red  Cross  waving  in  the 
wind !  What  you  believe,  commit  to  all 
men  to  believe,  call  upon  all  men  to  de- 
fend !  Establish  a  democracy  of  truth, 
not  an  oligarchy.  And  be  sure  that,  as 
you  contend  in  this  spirit,  by  your  side 
will  be  the  one  Defender  of  the  Faith, 
and  you  and  He  together  will  be  doing 
all  that  God  and  man  can  do  to  preserve 
the  truth  in  its  purity,  and  win  its  com- 
plete dominion  over  the  hearts  of  men, 
so 


lovers  of  verity,  men  of  convic- 


^bat  tbe^  all 
ma^  be 
one. 


IV 


Minor  Differences 


I  LIT  if  it  may  not  be  said  that 
sectarian  disunion  is  necessary 
for  the  preservation  and  propa- 
gation of  truth,  neither  may  it 
be  said,  as  it  so  often  is  said,  that  only 
minor  differences  separate  the  sects  while 
they  are  one  at  heart,  and  that  therefore 
any  agitation  of  Church  union  is  super- 
fluous. 

One  at  heart?  Consider  two  persons 
that  are  one  at  heart,  two  star- 
crowned  joys  of  earth  and  heaven,  two 
lovers. 

They  live  in  each  other.  In  work  or  in 
play  they  would  be  together.  From 
necessary  separation  they  hasten  long- 
ingly to  each  other's  arms.  When  they 
part,  each  leaves  half  a  soul  behind. 

They  know  each  other  thoroughly, 
every  turn  of  the  wrist,  every  in- 
flection of  the  voice,  their  choice  of  color 
and  fragrance,  favorite  spots,  book 
friendships,  aversions  as  well  as  likings. 
They  are  eager  to  learn  each  other's 
past,  for  it  is  a  prolongation  of  the  loved 
one.  They  delve  in  each  other's  char- 
acter as  in  a  bank  of  jewels. 


34 


Minor  'Differences 


35 


They  rejoice  in  each  other's  joy.  Each 
is  more  proud  of  the  other's  achieve- 
ment than  of  his  own,  more  exultant  in 
the  other's  possession  or  enlargement 
than  in  his  own. 

T^hey  sorrow  in  each  other's  loss.  When 


one  is  sick,  the  other  pines  away. 
Failure,  disappointment,  privation  to  the 
one,  comes  as  a  poignant  grief  to  the 
other. 


hey  help  in  each  other's  work.  What 


*■  a  halo  is  thrown  around  a  task  they 
perform  together  !  However  humble,  the 
shaking  of  rugs,  the  cleaning  of  windows, 
it  becomes  a  deed  of  romance. 


hey  have  all  things  in  common.  A 


^  new  viand,  a  delectable  poem,  a  rosy 
sunset,  they  hasten  to  share  with  each 
other.  The  very  thought  of  separate 
stores  is  impossible  treason. 


hey  have  differences?    Yes;  but  the 


*  differences  only  give  piquancy  to 
their  association.  While  one  prefers 
Browning,  the  other  prefers  Shelley ;  it 
is  well :  so  much  the  wider  knowledge 
for  them  both.  While  one  is  impulsive, 
the  other  is  cautious ;  while  one  is  san- 
guine, the  other  is  less  hopeful ;  while  one 
is  artistic,  the  other  is  musical ;  while  one 
is  a  bookkeeper,  the  other  is  a  stenog- 
rapher. It  is  admirable :  each  comple- 
ments the  other,  and  the  two  together 
are  safe  and  whole. 


36 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


And  their  future  is  knit  as  their  pres- 
ent. The  decades  of  earth  and  the 
infinite  aisles  of  eternity  are  precious  to 
them  because  they  will  tread  them  to- 
gether. The\'  want  no  separate  life  in 
all  the  happy  future  because  they  are 
one  at  heart. 

In  the  presence  of  such  a  picture,  real- 
ized daily  and  hourly  in  every  com- 
munity, to  speak  of  the  sects  as  being 
one  in  heart  seems  profanation. 

Methodist  and  Presbyterian  living  in 
each  other's  lives?  Longing  to  be 
together  in  all  their  services?  Separat- 
ing with  reluctance  and  of  necessity  ( for 
the  preservation  and  defense  of  the 
truth),  but  at  each  opportunity  flying 
from  their  parted  conventicles  to  each 
other's  arms? 

Baptist  and  Episcopalian  knowing  each 
other  thoroughly?  Acquainted  with 
each  other's  holy  men,  heroes  of  the 
same  cross,  martyrs  of  the  same  Christ? 
Reading  each  other's  books  and  jour- 
nals? Eager  to  learn  each  other's  past 
as  an  extension  and  interpretation  of  the 
beloved  present?  Eager  to  understand 
each  other's  character,  and  sympathize 
with  each  other's  aversions  and  prefer- 
ences ? 

Congregationalist  and   Methodist  re- 
joicing in  each  other's  joy?  Ex- 
ulting in  the  progress  of  each  other,  each 


Minor  Differences 


37 


happy  when  the  other  surpasses  in  sta- 
tistics ? 

Presbyterian  and  Baptist  sorrowing  in 
each  other's  loss?  Each  speeding  to 
prevent  the  disaster  when  the  other  must 
close  a  church  or  abandon  a  mission? 
Each  ready  and  importunate  with  prac- 
tical assistance  when  the  statistics  of  the 
other  fall  off? 

Lutheran  and  Episcopalian  helping  in 
each  other's  work?    \'astly  prefer- 
ring joint  enterprises  to  separate  ones? 

Friend  and  Disciple  having  all  things 
in  common?  Hastening  to  share 
with  each  other  a  fruitful  method,  a 
convincing  speaker,  a  surplus  of  funds? 

And  all  the  sects  anticipating  no  future 
apart  from  each  other?  Each  will- 
ing to  decrease  that  the  other  may  in- 
crease? Each  finding  in  sweet  compan- 
ionship with  the  other  a  golden  joy  that 
irradiates  their  ambitions  and  all  their 
hopes  ? 

To  ask  these  questions  is  to  be  con- 
victed of  irony,  so  far  do  the  prac- 
tises and  sentiments  of  the  sects  fall 
below  those  of  any  pair  of  lovers. 

But  is  the  ideal  too  high?  Perish  the 
thought !  Shame  that  the  unity  of 
earthly  love  should  exceed  the  unity  of 
Christian  brothers !  Shame  that  the  at- 
tainment of  individuals  outside  of  Christ 


38 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


should  be  conceived  impossible  for  the 
joint  eflfort,  the  mutually  sustained  ac- 
complishment of  multitudes  of  Christian 
saints ! 

It  is  not  impossible.  Only  a  little  more 
openness  to  the  Holy  Spirit  of  im- 
perial love,  only  a  little  more  obedience, 
only  a  little  more  humility,  only  a  little 
more  unselfishness,  and  Christ's  churches 
will  give  to  the  w^orld  examples  and  evi- 
dences of  high  friendship,  of  romantic 
love,  such  as  carnal  affection  has  never 
thought  to  produce. 

It  is  possible.  It  is  sure.  It  is  coming 
soon,  with  a  great  leap  that  will  amaze 
the  world  and  fill  all  hearts  with  the 
exultation  of  it.   But  it  has  not  come  yet. 


*  The  denominations  one  at  heart  be- 
cause only  minor  diflferences  separate 
them?  Why,  who  does  not  know  that 
minor  differences  make  the  highest  bar- 
riers ? 

When  lovers  quarrel,  it  is  net  because 
one  is  emotional  and  the  other 
phlegmatic,  but  it  is  because  one  prefers 
the  parlor  while  the  other  wishes  to  re- 
main on  the  porch. 

The  denominations  that  are  closest  to- 
gether  in   history,   doctrines,  and 
practises  are  often  farthest  apart  in  ac- 


of  Church   union  superfluous? 


Minor  Differences 


39 


tual  life,  dislike  each  other  most  keenly, 
and  will  require  the  greatest  miracle  of 
love  to  bring  them  together. 

Indeed,  can  any  difference  of  belief  or 
procedure  that  affords  an  occasion 
for  this  great  sin  of  disunion  be  justly 
held  a  minor  difference?  Those  are 
minor  differences  which  men  can  con- 
done in  one  another,  smile  upon  com- 
placently, live  with. 

However  petty  in  itself,  in  results,  at 
least,  that  is  no  minor  difference 
that  can  hold  asunder  two  great  bodies 
of  Christians,  so  that  they  are  ignorant 
of  each  other,  do  not  help  each  other,  do 
not  rejoice  each  in  the  other,  but  are 
strangers  except  where  they  are  rivals 
and  even  opponents. 

A  minor  difference,  when  by  a  per- 


^  verted  conscience  it  is  exalted  into 
such  a  sinful  barrier,  covers  itself 
straightway  with  a  vine  of  spreading 
excuses.  It  is  never  in  the  estimation 
of  the  sectary  himself  a  minor  difference, 
but  only  in  the  minds  of  other  sectaries. 
Each  argues  that  his  own  fence  is  based 
upon  the  rock  of  necessary  truth.  The, 
as  you  and  I  look  upon  it,  a  certain  sect 
is  built  up  on  the  literal  interpretation  of 
a  few  passages  evidently  designed  for  a 
si)iritual  interpretation  only,  that  sect 
itself  holds  those  texts  in  every  letter  to 
be  the  foundation-stones  of  the  New 


40 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


Jerusalem.  Tho,  as  you  and  I  look  upon 
it,  another  sect  is  carrying  over  into  the 
present  a  precept  intended  only  for  the 
local  circumstances  of  some  little  church 
of  Paul's  day,  that  sect  itself  considers 
that  precept  the  keystone  of  the  universe. 
Tho,  as  you  and  I  look  upon  it,  still  an- 
other sect,  tho  doubtless  correct  in  its 
interpretation  of  Scripture  and  its  ap- 
plication to  the  present  time,  has  based 
its  division  upon  a  non-essential,  an  ab- 
solute non-essential,  to  which  its  mem- 
bers might  adhere  as  well  in  any  other 
denomination  as  in  their  sect,  yet  they 
themselves  look  upon  the  practise  or  the 
formula  or  the  rite  as  the  central  pre- 
requisite of  salvation. 

Minor  differences?  Why,  what  but  a 
luinor  difference  separates  the  char- 
coal from  the  diamond,  each  pure  car- 
bon, and  no  one  knows  just  why  they 
are  not  alike  ?  What  but  a  minor  differ- 
ence, a  slight  change  in  the  inclination 
of  light,  separates  a  lowering  sky  from  a 
rainbow?  What  but  a  minor  difference, 
an  accident  of  gravitative  balance,  sepa- 
rates a  comet  from  a  planet,  erratic 
wanderings  from  conservative  stability? 

Here  are  two  mushrooms,  alike  to  the 
untrained  observer;  but  one  will 
feed  you  and  the  other  poison  you.  Here 
are  two  sets  of  eyes,  both  blue,  both 
bright,  both  beautiful;  but  one  is  sight- 
less and  the  other  sees. 


Minor  Differences 


41 


Ah,  what  infinities  of  loss,  of  repulsion, 
and  of  change  may  grow  from  minor 
differences !  There  is  no  angle,  how- 
ever slight,  but,  extended,  may  measure 
a  universe.  There  is  no  difference  of 
human  opinion,  however  minute,  but, 
prolonged  by  passion,  self-interest,  and 
time,  may  thrust  the  holiest  affinities  into 
monstrous  divergence. 

If  indeed  these  are  minor  differences 
that  are  holding  asunder  the  members 
of  Christ's  body,  if  mere  matters  of 
opinion  and  of  preference  are  preventing 
the  fulfilment  of  His  longing  for  the 
unity  of  His  people,  then  shame  upon  us, 
heaven-high  and  hell-deep ! 

If  the  perspective  of  our  desires  is  so 
awry,  if  for  minor  choices  and  judg- 
ments we  are  degrading  still  more  to  a 
minor  position  His  choice  and  His  judg- 
ment, what  can  we  expect  but  confusion 
and  discord? 

I  f  in  this  matter  we  are  perverting  pro- 
^  portions,  how  can  we  guard  other  mat- 
ters from  the  contagion  of  insanity?  If 
for  minor  differences  we  are  disobedient 
to  Christ,  how  shall  we  withstand  the 
great  temptations? 

A  nd  if  indeed  these  are  minor  differ- 
ences  that  are  parting  the  sects,  let 
us  cease  to  prate  about  our  spiritual 
union,  and  look  with  dismay  but  clearly 
upon  our  real  condition.    Let  us  recog- 


42 


Th^t  They  All  May  Be  One 


nize  the  peril  and  the  difficulty,  the  more 
severe  because  veiled  so  cunningly,  and 
let  us  gird  ourselves  for  the  heavier  task. 

It  is  to  enter  the  vacuous  realm  of  prej- 
udices and  predilections.  It  is  to 
throw  down  the  gauntlet  to  passions  and 
whims.  It  is  to  unmail  opinion,  to  un- 
horse egotism.  It  is  to  dethrone  pride 
and  seat  humility  at  the  center.  It  is  to 
place  first  things  first  and  second  things 
second. 

And  in  it  all,  O  Lord  Jesus,  it  is  to 
exalt  Thee,  that  Thy  will  may  be 
done  on  earth  as  in  heaven,  that  our 
wills  may  not  be  done  nor  our  selfish- 
nesses consummated,  that  men  may  enter 
into  the  secret  of  Thy  union  with  Thy 
Father,  a  union  unmarred  by  any  diflfer- 
ences,  major  or  minor,  and  so 


^bat  tbe^  all 
mai?  be 
one. 


V 


Conscientious  Convictions 

ONSCIENCE!  War-cry  of  the 
hero  and  shibboleth  of  the  petty 
partisan !  The  sectary's  boast 
and  the  martyr's  consolation ! 
Refuge  of  ignorance,  conceit,  and  pas- 
sion !  \'antage-ground  of  godlike  self- 
sacrifice  !  Home  by  turns  of  deity  and 
demagog — what  deeds  of  splendor  and 
ignominy  bear  thy  name ! 

Men,  as  conscience  impelled  them, 
have  bathed  nations  in  the  blood  of 
innocents.  Other  men,  impelled  by  con- 
science, have  braved  the  terrors  of 
the  battle-field,  carrying  succor  to  the 
wounded. 

Men  of  conscience  have  revolved  the 
thumbscrew,  driven  the  wedge  in 
the  iron  boot,  and  turned  the  rack  to  the 
last  point  of  agony.  Other  men  of  con- 
science have  broken  down  their  dun- 
geons, freed  their  white-haired  captives, 
and  ground  to  powder  the  instruments 
of  their  inquisition. 

Men  of  conscience — zvoinen  of  con- 
science— have  tossed  their  brothers 
over  precipices,  bound  them  to  stakes 
in  the  midst  of  the  advancing  tide, 

43 


44 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


heaped  firebrands  against  their  blacken- 
ing flesh.  Other  conscientious  men  have 
taught  and  endured,  endured  and  taught, 
till  martyrs'  memorials  arose  in  the 
scenes  of  their  sufferings. 


his  inner  voice  that  we  call  conscience 


we  always  assume  to  be  the  voice 
of  God.  History  and  observation  alike 
should  convince  us  that  it  is  often  the 
voice  of  quite  other  than  God. 

The  long,  sad  story  of  idolatry  has  but 
one  plot — the  exaltation  of  a  human 
passion  and  dubbing  it  a  god.  We  wor- 
ship lust?  Never!  It  is  Astarte  or 
Aphrodite.  We  worship  ambition  ?  Per- 
ish the  thought!  We  bow  before  Baal 
or  Zeus.  We  worship  self?  Fie!  It  is 
Conscience,  sacred  symbol  of  immutable 
Omniscience. 

That  same  sad  history  of  idolatry 
should  hint  to  us  how  easily  the 
natural — yes,  even  the  excellent  and  ad- 
mirable— becomes  monstrous  idol-wor- 
ship, incestuous  and  devilish.  Who  does 
not,  gazing  at  the  sun,  feel  a  thrill  of 
awe,  and  know  himself  closer  to  the  Al- 
mighty ?  Who  would  think  it  possible 
to  degrade  that  sacred  reverence  into  the 
child-murdering  furnace  of  a  Moloch? 
Who  is  not  exhilarated  in  the  fecunda- 
tion of  the  seasons,  as  the  dry  earth 
brings  forth  the  children  of  the  grass, 
and  bursts  into  a  progeny  of  loveliness? 


Conscientious  Con'vidions 


45 


And  who,  from  that  holy  and  purifying 
contemplation,  could  turn  immediately 
without  disgust  to  the  foulness  into 
which  it  grew,  the  sodomites  of  the 
temple  ? 

If  ever  the  history  of  conscience  is  writ- 
ten (intricate  and  ungracious  task!), 
many  such  transformations  will  be  re- 
corded. Some  of  them,  alas !  will  be  re- 
corded of  the  Christian  sects. 

For  an  opinion  at  variance  with  our 
brothers',  if  it  is  true  and  vital,  may 
require  us  to  fight  for  it,  and  perhaps  to 
die  for  it.  Then  we  are  heroes  of  con- 
science. But  if,  after  the  battle  is  won, 
or  the  truth  ceases  to  be  vital,  it  serves 
us  as  an  excuse  for  continued  variance, 
we  are  idolaters  of  conscience  and  its 
heroes  no  longer. 


nacity,  our  determination  into  ob- 
stinacy, our  self-sacrifice  into  the  spirit 
of  persecution,  and  our  self-forgetful- 
ness  into  vainglory. 

A  t  first  we  contended  for  principles ; 


first  we  were  content  that  truth  should 
prevail;  but  now  we'  seek  self-aggran- 
dizement. At  first  we  desired  the  reform 
of  others ;  but  now  we  wish  their  ad- 
hesion to  ourselves. 


transformed  into  pug- 


now,  for  place  and  power.  At 


46 


Thai  They  All  May  Be  One 


11,  or  nearly  all,  of  the  denominations 


^  have  had  their  heroic  age.  All,  or 
nearly  all,  sprung  from  a  true  necessity 
of  conscience.  Where  the  necessity  con- 
tinues, by  all  means  let  the  denomination 
continue,  with  no  fear  of  degenerating 
from  its  heroism.  Where  the  necessity 
has  expired,  the  sect  is  in  sore  peril  of 
idolatry. 

T  do  not  mean  that  the  denominations, 
most  of  them  or  any  of  them,  are  liv- 
ing on  their  past.  No,  no!  They  are 
justifying  themselves  daily,  as  individu- 
als and  Churches,  by  a  myriad  daily  acts 
of  Christlikeness.  But  are  they  justify- 
ing themselves  as  isolations  ?  That  cause 
of  precious  truth  which,  a  century  ago, 
justified  the  separation  from  their  broth- 
ers, is  it  a  present  justification,  or  has  it 
long  since  been  added  to  the  memories 
of  defeated  error? 

'"phis  is  a  serious  and  solemn  question. 


*  far  too  long  ignored  by  Churches 
and  Churchmen. 

Because  a  sect  is  not  justified  in  its 
schism  by  its  good  deeds,  its  growth 
in  numbers,  its  splendid  edifices,  its  re- 
vivals, its  victorious  machinery,  its  ex- 
panding missions,  its  overflowing  chari- 
ties, its  colleges  and  libraries  and  litera- 
ture. All  these  might  come,  and  doubt- 
less in  greater  abundance  still,  through 
union  with  brother  Churches.    A  sect  is 


Conscientious  Convictions 


47 


to  be  upheld  in  its  schism,  upheld  by  God 
and  man,  only  as  it  possesses  some  neces- 
sary truth  which  the  other  denominations 
do  not  possess,  and  which  could  not  be 
imparted  to  them  as  well  by  union  with 
them  as  by  isolation  from  them.  If  it 
is  clear  that  the  truth  is  of  sufficient  value 
to  counterbalance  the  evils  of  separation ; 
if  it  is  clear  that  it  would  be  lost,  over- 
whelmed, or  corrupted  by  union ;  if  it  is 
clear  that,  tho  it  might  be  propagated 
from  the  midst  of  the  other  sects,  it  could 
not  be  propagated  so  effectively — then 
let  the  denomination  continue,  with  God's 
blessing  upon  it. 

Out  these  are  three  unlikely  conditions, 
^  and  the  evils  of  sectarianism  are  so 
manifest  that  the  burden  of  proof  rests 
always  with  the  sectaries. 

A  ny  single  denomination  is  but  a  small 
^  minority  of  Christ's  followers.  It 
is  incredible  that  the  other  denomina- 
tions do  not  contain  vast  numbers  of  in- 
telligent, devout  Christians.  It  is  very 
improbable  that  for  a  century  or  more 
any  great,  necessary  truth  should  remain 
the  exclusive  possession  of  a  single  sect. 
If  it  were  so,  that  would  certainly  argue 
the  absurd  inefficiency  of  sects  as  propa- 
gators of  the  truth.  If  a  sect,  for  any 
considerable  period,  has  .so  failed  to  im- 
press its  truth  upon  other  Cluirches  that 
it  has  not  yet  converted  to  the  truth  a 
single  denomination,  it  might  well  sus- 


48 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


pect  its  method,  and  make  trial  of  union 
as  a  vantage-ground  for  its  propaganda. 

Nor  is  it  at  all  likely  that,  in  this  day 
of  free  thought  and  free  speech,  the 
united  advocates  of  any  truth  would  be 
overwhelmed  in  the  midst  of  any  de- 
nomination. We  are  continually  wit- 
nessing, in  single  denominations  and  the 
Church  at  large,  the  triumph  of  ideas, 
or  at  least  their  persistent  agitation,  to 
promote  which,  a  century  ago,  it  would 
have  been  thought  imperatively  neces- 
sary to  form  a  new  denomination. 

An  instance  of  this  is  the  introduction 
of  individual  communion-cups — an 
innovation  repugnant  to  many  as  de- 
stroying sacred,  time-honored  associa- 
tions, or  even  violating  what  they  con- 
sider an  absolute  command  of  Christ, 
while  to  others  it  is  reasonable,  neces- 
sary, and  devout.  Yet  in  spite  of  these 
positive,  wide,  and  conscientious  differ- 
ences, the  change  has  gone  steadily  for- 
ward, the  churches  that  chose  to,  have 
adopted  it,  and  those  that  voted  other- 
wise have  rejected  it,  and  no  church  has 
been  disrupted,  nor,  so  far  as  I  have 
heard,  has  a  single  communicant  been 
lost  to  our  fellowship.  But  sects  have 
been  formed  on  grounds  of  conscience 
slighter  than  this. 

Scattered   through   the  denominations 
arc  thousands  of  earnest  men  who 
conscientiously  hold  that  the  prohibition 


ConscietiHoas  Convictions 


49 


of  the  liquor  traffic  is  the  duty  of  the 
state,  and  that  no  pohtical  question,  nor 
all  political  questions  put  together,  may 
for  a  moment  be  considered  as  surpass- 
ing the  importance  of  that  measure.  For 
what  they  think  more  effective  action 
these  men  have  bound  themselves  to- 
gether in  a  political  party,  but  they  have 
not  for  a  moment  thought  of  forming  a 
new  religious  denomination,  tho  the  cru- 
sade against  alcohol  is  held  by  all  of 
them  to  be  their  first  religious  duty.  In- 
stead, they  have  powerfully  influenced 
the  denominations  from  within,  and  have 
won  several  of  them  to  their  tenets. 

Consider  those  followers  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace  who  hold  war  in  this  age 
to  be  barbaric  and  sinful,  and  who,  in 
scores  of  peace  societies,  arc  moving  so 
powerfully  upon  legislatures  and  parlia- 
ments that  international  arbitration  is 
already  recognized  as  the  coming,  inevi- 
table mode  of  settling  international  dis- 
putes. To  effect  this  fundamental  Chris- 
tian end  no  sect  was  founded,  but  men 
of  all  sects  who  believed  in  the  reform 
associated  themselves  in  a  mighty  broth- 
erhood. If  a  sect  had  been  established, 
as  according  to  precedent  it  might  well 
have  been,  the  reform  would  still  be  in 
the  air. 

No  duty  calls  so  urgently  upon  indi- 
vidual Christians  and  the  denomi- 
nations as  this  duty  of  examining  the 


50 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


grounds  of  the  separate  existence  of  each 
sect.  Upon  individuals,  because  if  a  sin 
is  being  committed  by  sectarianism  each 
church-member  is  responsible  for  it  who 
does  not  protest  against  it,  and,  to  the 
limit  of  his  power,  abolish  it.  Upon  de- 
nominations, because  this  individual  con- 
viction becomes  effective  against  the  sin 
only  as  it  combines  to  overthrow  it,  since 
it  is  a  sin  of  combination. 

Make  the  examination  in  all  humility. 
Be  more  willing  to  admit  that  you 
were  wrong  than  to  charge  your  brother 
with  wrong. 

Make  it  with  full  knowledge  of  your 
brothers.  Discover  their  real  at- 
titude, their  actual  beliefs  and  practises, 
and  distrust  profoundly  your  prejudices 
and  uninformed  opinions. 


•I'A  brothers  of  other  sects.  Do  not 
read  books  about  them,  but  read  their 
faces,  the  tones  of  their  voices,  the  clasp 
of  their  hands,  the  accent  of  their  pray- 
ers. 

\J\  ake  it  in  communion  with  God.  Dis- 


•''1  avow  your  own  judgment;  too 
often  has  it  proved  untrustworthy.  Open 
vour  mind  to  the  iiirushing  Spirit  of 
Truth.  Let  1  lim  take  of  the  things  of 
Christ  and  of  Christ's  brethren,  and  show 
them  to  you. 


consultation   with  your 


Conscientious  Con'victions 


51 


And  then,  having  come  clearly  to  un- 
derstand precisely  what  truth  your 
denomination  holds,  and  what  truth  the 
other  denominations  hold,  then — how 
strange  it  seems  to  say  it ! — get  as  close 
together  as  your  consciences  will  allow. 

'T~^he  higher  conscience  and  not  the  in- 
*  finitely  lower ;  the  conscience  of 
God  and  not  the  instigation  of  Satan ; 
consciousness  of  the  entire  Kingdom  and 
not  of  a  sect ;  conscience  of  humility  and 
not  of  pride. 

Recognize  degrees  of  importance  in 
truth,  distinguish  between  misunder- 
standings that  must  be  explained,  and 
unwillingness  that  must  be  persuaded, 
and  rank  hostility  that  must  be  fought ; 
allow  no  breach  that  truth  does  not  re- 
quire. 

'Hp his  is  not  to  minimize  conscience,  but 
^  to  magnify  it.  This  is  to  lift  con- 
science from  the  muck-hcap  and  place 
it  on  the  throne.  This  is  to  save  con- 
science from  the  dwarfing  of  self-inter- 
est, the  contamination  of  passion,  the 
pollution  of  pride. 

This  is  to  build  up,  out  of  our  paltry 
shreds  of  sectarian  consciences,  a 
vast,  unified  conscience  of  the  Church, 
that  shall  throb  in  unison  with  the  con- 
science of  the  Most  High,  and  in  His 
name  impel  a  consolidated  Christendom 
to  the  conquest  of  His  world. 


52 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


It  is — yes,  out  of  our  fragmentary  sects 
^  and  segments  of  minds,  it  is  to  form 
within  us  the  Mind  of  Christ,  which  is 
one  and  indivisible,  the  ultimate  and  only 
conscience  of  His  people ;  that  Mind 
whose  will  is  our  authority,  whose  com- 
mand is  our  program,  and  whose  long- 
ing it  is,  and,  through  the  sad,  waiting 
centuries  ever  has  been, 

ZTbat  tbe^  all 
ma^  be 
one. 


VI 


The  Home  Feeling 

|OME  talk  of  the  advantages  of 
sectarianism.   It  is  as  one  would 
say  "  The  beauties  of  dissection," 
"  The  charm  of  cancer,"  "  The 
glories  of  consumption." 

But  since  many  feel  vaguely  that  vast 
benefits  somehow  spring  from  these 
divisions  in  the  body  of  Christ,  it  is  nec- 
essary to  examine  the  arguments  of  the 
apologists  for  sectarianism,  and  show 
how  every  apparent  advantage  is  illusory. 

The  denominations,"  claim  the  sec- 
taries, "  have  great  zeal  for  their 
own.  Their  ardor  is  not  dissipated  over 
too  wide  a  field.  Community  ownership 
has  never  worked  well.  Men  will  not 
throw  their  heart  into  their  work  unless 
each  has  his  own  home  to  beautify,  his 
own  little  farm  to  till.  Man  needs  his 
own  if  he  would  be  as  zealous  for  re- 
ligion as  for  secularities." 

'"prue ;  but  is  the  feeling  of  ownership 
^  confined  to  small  possessions?  The 
child  owns  his  tiny  flower-bed,  and  has 
no  c()iict'])ti()n  of  it  if  he  possesses  a  farm  ; 
but  when  he  becomes  a  man,  every  rod 
of  his  smiling  acres  is  a  personal  joy  to 

53 


54  That  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


him.  To  a  provincial  his  country  neigh- 
borhood alone  gives  the  zest  of  owner- 
ship, and  he  cares  more  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  county  roads  than  for  a  new 
transcontinental  railroad ;  but  as  he  reads 
the  papers  and  books  and  meets  men  of 
affairs,  tho  he  never  leaves  his  township, 
he  comes  to  have  a  sense  of  ownership 
in  the  great  country,  and  a  zeal  for  the 
welfare  of  Colorado  quite  as  real  as  for 
Hardscrabble. 

Switzerland  is  a  small  country  and  the 
United  States  is  vast ;  but  does  the 
Swiss  excel  the  American  in  patriotism, 
or  experience  in  greater  degree  that  zeal 
for  his  nation  that  springs  from  a  sense 
of  ownership? 

The  Methodist  Protestants  are  a  small 
body  and  the  Methodist  Episcopa- 
lians are  very  numerous.  It  is  notorious 
that  the  individual  zeal  of  the  members 
of  our  largest  American  denomination 
is  unsurpassed,  and  their  personal  pride 
in  their  Church. 


national  union  to  be  formed  as 
large — were  that  possible  ! — as  the  Unit- 
ed States,  could  not  each  denomination 
continue  its  zeal  for  its  segment  of  it,  as 
the  Buckeye  is  proud  of  Ohio?  And 
would  not  the  zeal  for  the  union  soon 
come  to  surpass  even  the  zeal  for  the 
denomination,  as  each  true  citizen  of 
Ohio  is  first  an  American? 


own !  "    Why,  were  a  denomi- 


The  Home  Feeling 


55 


"  /^ur  own!"  Ownership  and  the 
power  of  ownership  are  as  large 
as  the  man.  Become  a  Newton,  and  you 
shall  feel  a  sense  of  ownership  beyond 
Orion. 

"  /^ur  own!  "  Why,  even  if,  some 
day,  men's  consciences  should  al- 
low a  Church  union  that  would  obliterate 
sects  altogether,  and  our  divisions  should 
be  only  local,  "  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
Allentown,"  "  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
Chicago,"  would  we  not  still  have  the 
sense  of  ownership,  with  its  zeal  ?  "  The 
Church  of  Christ  in  Chicago  "  would  be 
as  large  as  most  denominations.  It 
would  all  be  within  walking  distance. 
Any  member  of  that  Church  could  know 
it  a  thousandfold  more  intimately  than 
a  United  Presbyterian,  for  instance, 
could  know  the  men  and  affairs  of  his 
continental  denomination.  Would  not  * 
the  sense  of  ownership  in  "  the  Church 
of  Chri.st  in  Chicago  "  come  to  be  to  a 
Chicagoan  as  precious  as  his  denomina- 
tional membership  to  a  United  Presby- 
terian ? 

"  /^ur  own!  "  It  has  no  basis  except 
our  activity,  of  mind  or  body. 
An  ardent  Sunday-school  worker,  well- 
read,  broad-minded,  with  a  sense  of  his 
higli  calling  and  with  industry  to  match 
his  zeal,  has  the  feeling  of  ownership 
whenever  he  sees  a  Sunday-school.  He 
is  at  home  there,  however  strange  may 


56 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


be  the  rest  of  the  church  Hfe.  The  en- 
tire world  of  Sunday-schools  is  his,  from 
Coshocton  to  Canton.  Cutting  cleanly 
across  all  denominational  lines,  the 
Sunday-school  is  all  the  sect  he  has. 

/^r,  here  is  a  specialist  in  missions. 


He  is  supporting  a  native  worker 
in  Foochow,  and  he  lives  for  China. 
Amoy,  Tientsin,  Pao-ting-fu,  Sz-chuen, 
— these  are  home  names  to  him.  Every 
scrap  of  information  from  China  is  meat 
and  drink.  If  he  has  a  denomination, 
it  is  the  Flowery  Kingdom. 


'here  is  a  sectary  that  Christ  can  love ! 


-*  His  is  a  denominationalism  that  is 
rational.  It  is  positive  and  not  negative, 
progressive  and  not  reactionary.  It  is 
liberal,  unselfish.  The  ardent  Sunday- 
school  worker  is  so  much  the  more  in- 
terested in  the  temperance  reform.  He 
that  supports  a  Bible-reader  in  Foochow 
is  all  the  more  rejoiced  when  the  Gospel 
triumphs  in  North  India. 

How  our  Church  divisions,  that  are 
based  upon  the  accident  of  birth 
into  a  Presbyterian  family  or  a  Mora- 
vian ;  or  upon  a  chance  removal  into  a 
Baptist  neighborhood  or  a  Congrega- 
tional ;  or  upon  the  shadowy  prolonga- 
tion of  dead  issues — how  they  pale 
before  these  stout  and  sinewy  divisions 
that  are  born  of  living  tendencies  and 
personal  interest !  Your  fundamental 
divisions  of  men,  the  divisions  that  ab- 


The  Home  Feeling 


57 


sorb  the  greater  part  of  their  time  and 
strength  and  love  in  the  secular  sphere, 
are  their  occupations.  Men  are  masons, 
artists,  cooks,  poets.  It  is  even  so  in  the 
religious  sphere,  as  Paul  recognized  at 
the  beginning  of  things — "some, apostles  ; 
and  some,  prophets ;  and  some,  evangel- 
ists ;  and  some,  pastors  and  teachers." 


ur  own  " — when  the  Church  is  or- 


ganized  as  it  should  be,  there  will 
be  no  lack  of  a  personal,  individual  in- 
terest; and,  perhaps,  of  a  denominational 
interest;  only,  it  will  be  transferred  from 
non-essentials  to  essentials,  from  acci- 
dental to  innate,  from  divisive  to  cumu- 
lative and  edifying.  No  longer  pride  in 
a  partisan  name,  fealty  to  a  vague  some- 
thing stretching  out  over  three  thousand 
miles,  it  will  be,  first,  "  our  own  "  local 
work,  the  Church  of  Christ  in — Kalama- 
zoo ;  then,  it  will  be  "  our  own  "  calling, 
the  Guild  of  Primary  Sunday-school 
Teachers,  or  the  P>rotherhood  of  the 
Consecrated  Stereopticon,  or  the  Asso- 
ciation of  Workers  among  Street  Boys, 
or  the  Friends  of  Persia,  or  the  Sailors' 
Christian  Federation;  finally,  it  will  be 
"  our  own  "  Church  of  Christ  Universal, 
the  towering  pride,  the  dominating  am- 
bition, the  exultant  joy,  of  all  our  life. 

Dut  we  are  charged  with  theorizing  in 
the  face  of  sentiment.    "  The  home 
feeling  of  the  denominations,"  men  say, 
"  is  a  very  real  thing,  not  to  be  displaced 


58 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


by  an  airy  ideal.  It  is  the  product  of 
long  usage.  It  is  consecrated  by  genera- 
tions of  dear  associations  :  the  pew  where 
our  mothers  knelt ;  the  baptismal  service 
that  received  our  fathers  into  the  church  ; 
the  doctrines  for  which  our  ancestors 
fought.  Upon  it  lies  the  tender  halo  of 
time.  It  is  the  fragrance  of  religion,  and 
nothing  is  so  tenacious  as  fragrance.  If 
you  could  drive  it  away,  and  establish  in 
its  place  a  system  however  mathematic- 
ally correct,  and  springing  with  what- 
ever symmetry  from  one  unifying  center, 
you  would  abolish  romance  and  affection, 
and  you  would  level  Christianity  with 
geometry." 

To  that  it  must  be  replied  that  senti- 
ment is  strong,  and  the  sentiment  of 
home  is  strongest  of  all ;  but  home  need 
not  be  a  hovel. 

The  home  feeling  is  a  habit,  as  the 
sense  of  ownership  is  a  growth.  To 
Scott  the  baronial  pile  of  Abbotsford  was 
as  real  a  home  as  to  Burns  his  cottage. 
When  the  Earl  of  Warwick  returns  to 
that  splendid  castle,  he  rests  in  a  home 
as  satisfying — no  more,  no  less — as  the 
neat  wooden  house  that  receives  Captain 
iJarker,  just  back  from  the  Newfound- 
land Banks.  The  Anglican  is  at  home  in 
the  eloquent  aisles  of  Westminster  quite 
as  comfortably  as  the  Xew  Yorker  in  the 
little  wooden  One-Hundred-and-Eighty- 
Ninth- Street  Tabernacle. 


The  Home  Feeling 


59 


It  is  noble  for  a  miner  to  be  content  in 
a  cabin ;  it  is  ignoble  for  the  mine-own- 
er to  continue  in  the  cabin.  "  Build  thee 
more  stately  mansions,  O  my  soul !  "  To 
the  cabin  the  young  wife  was  brought. 
Around  it  were  planted  the  first  morn- 
ing-glories. In  it  the  children  were  born. 
From  it  was  carried  the  first  hostage  to 
the  infinite  Hereafter.  The  cabin  will 
always  be  a  sacred  place  to  the  miner. 
He  will  come  back,  some  day,  perhaps, 
and  buy  it.  He  may  transfer  it  to  some 
woodland  shrine  in  his  spacious  estate. 
But  he  will  not  continue  to  live  in  it. 

P  or  a  man  is  known  by  his  home.  The 
^  scholar  outgrows  the  village  library. 
Edison  outgrew  his  laboratory  in  the 
baggage-car.  As  the  man  enlarges  his 
estate  enlarges,  and  if  the  man  stagnates 
his  home  is  stationary ;  it  can  not  be 
otherwise. 

In  heaven  there  will  be  no  flats.  The 
abiding-places  that  Christ  went  before 
to  prepare  for  us  are  mansions ;  they  are 
not  two-room  cottages.  The  cathedral 
where  they  worship  before  the  throne  of 
(iod  is  spacious  enough  to  contain  ten 
thousand  times  ten  thousand  and  thou- 
sands of  thousands.  The  organ  to  which 
they  sing  is  the  music  of  the  spheres. 

Dut  it  will  be  all  homelike,  for  the  soul 
^  will  be  enlarged,  enfranchised.  Out 
of  the  barest  tenement,  with  .seven  rooms 
and  a  bath,  the  free  spirit  will  step  into 


6o 


That  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


the  great  hall  of  its  eternal  mansion,  and 
know  itself  for  the  first  time  at  home. 
Out  of  the  little  wooden  prairie  church, 
with  its  six  rattling  windows  where  the 
bluebottles  buzz,  the  liberated  soul  will 
pass  to  the  temple  of  the  New  Jerusalem, 
whose  pavement  is  of  gold  and  its  walls 
one  chrysolite,  nor  will  he  for  an  in- 
stant be  a  stranger  there. 


hat  is,  if  the  spirit  here  below  has 


*  lived  for  the  large  things  and  not  for 
the  small,  and  has  striven,  even  in  the 
crib  of  space  and  time,  to  grow  wonted 
to  eternity  and  to  the  infinite. 

I do  not  mean  that  there  is  nothing 
small  in  heaven,  enwrapping  and 
cozy.  That  would  be  to  read  curiously 
wrong  this  specimen  earth,  its  infinitesi- 
mals inscribed  on  every  atom  with  the 
delight  of  God.  Nor  do  I  mean  that 
when  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  comes  on 
earth  in  a  united  and  speedily  triumphant 
Church,  it  will  all  be  stately  and  wide, 
with  no  cozy  corners  in  it. 

Cathedrals  have  their  chapels ;  the 
grandest  cathedrals  often  have  the 
most  chapels.  There  may  be  small  rooms 
in  the  lordliest  palace.  Great  Britain  has 
its  Rutlandshire  and  the  United  States 
its  Delaware  and  Rhode  Island.  Col- 
lege graduates,  as  they  fling  themselves 
out  upon  the  vast  world  currents,  still 
maintain  alumni  associations,  and  re- 


The  Home  Feeling 


6i 


turn  now  and  then  to  renew  their  memo- 
ries upon  the  bosom  of  alma  mater. 

Cven  so  the  Church  of  Christ,  when 
•L'  Christians  come  to  the  will  of  Christ, 
when  it  rises  crystalline  and  one,  must 
lose  no  fragrance  of  sentiment,  no  charm, 
of  memory,  no  power  of  ancient  custom. 
We  may  even  continue  to  have,  for  all  I 
know,  our  one  hundred  denotninations. 
Ways  will  be  found — how  familiar  are 
those  ways  to  the  mind  of  the  Creator ! — 
ways  will  be  found  to  live  in  the  large 
and  in  the  small,  the  new  and  the  old, 
the  individual  and  the  comprehensive, 
as  God  abides  alike  in  the  ant-hill  and 
Arcturus. 

A  nd  it  will  be  all  so  easy,  as  we  come 


to  live  with  Christ!  As  we  abide  in 
Him  and  He  in  us,  we  shall  be  at  home 
wherever  He  is,  and  most  where  He  is 
most. 

De  this  our  exile,  to  disregard  His  will. 
^  Be  this  our  home,  to  love  His  will 
and  do  it.  Oh,  I  think  that  for  the  first 
time  the  Cluirch  will  be  a  home  to  us 
when  in  a  passion  of  love  for  our  Re- 
deemer we  set  ourselves  to  realize  His 
prayer, 


^bat  tbei?  all 
ma^  be 
one. 


VII 


Working  Together 

I  MOTHER  advantage  claimed  for 
sectarianism  is  that  men  of  the 
same  stamp  of  mind  and  the 
same  type  of  conduct  can  work 
most  easily  together.  "  How,  in  a  united 
Christendom,"  the  sectaries  ask,  "  could 
the  '  shouting  Methodist '  and  the  High 
Church  Episcopalian  understand  each 
other  and  work  effectively  together?" 

The  answer  is  obvious.  If,  in  a  united 
Church,  men  of  the  same  stamp  can 
alone  work  together  effectively,  let  them ! 
They  will  all  be  there.  Methodists  and 
Anglican  and  the  rest,  and  any  wise 
management  will  set  to  working  together, 
in  denominations  as  now,  or  otherwise, 
those  that  can  work  together  best. 

But  it  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  men 
are  divided  into  denominations  ac- 
cording to  their  types  of  mind  and  pre- 
ferred modes  of  action.  Sectarianism  is 
not  so  logical !  It  would  be  nearer  the 
truth  (tho  of  course  an  incomplete  state- 
ment) to  say  that  men  are  divided  into 
sects  by  the  accident  of  birth  in  certain 
localities  or  social  strata,  or  even  certain 
families. 

62 


Working  Together 


63 


Is  there  a  sect  that  could  be  called  the 
^  denomination  of  the  mystics?  Are  not 
those  men  of  the  omnipotent  ideal  found, 
and  quite  equally,  in  all  sects?  Praise 
God  for  that,  and  count  it  a  happy  omen 
for  Church  union ! 

A  A/hich  is  the  Denomination  of  the 
^  ^    Dryasdusts  ?    Not  a  sect  but  is 
cursed  with  men  that  can  not  see  beyond 
a  fact. 

And  our  liturgical  brethren ?  spirits  of 
the  procession,  souls  that  rejoice  in 
symbols  and  cymbals  ?  Do  they  not 
march  in  all  ranks,  organizing  Sunday- 
school  parades  where  they  can  not  have 
recessionals,  and,  if  debarred  from  altar 
candles,  stringing  Chinese  lanterns? 


he  literalists,  are  they  not  with  us 


*  all,  everywhere  holding  to  the  nouns 
and  letting  go  the  adverbs,  everywhere 
interpreting  Scripture  by  refusing  to  in- 
terpret, and  translating  by  transferring? 

'nphesc,  ah,  such  as  these  arc  Nature's 


*  sects,  the  logical  denominations,  run- 
ning across  our  illogical  sects  as  the 
strata  run  across  the  crevices  of  a  quarry. 
If  it  were  true  that  men  of  the  same 
.stamp  could  alone  work  together  effect- 
ively, then  indeed  must  our  denomina- 
tions be  reorganized,  then  indeed  must 
they  be  dissolved  together,  tiiat  like  may 
settle  with  like. 


64 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


But  is  it  true?  Or,  rather,  is  it  not  con- 
stantly proved  that  men  of  differing 
and  even  of  opposing  types  of  mind,  if 
they  are  loving  and  just,  work  best  to- 
gether? Your  mystic  needs  your  "  prac- 
tical "  man  (the  mystic  is  supremely 
practical)  to  lay  the  lower  courses  of  his 
temple.  Your  Dryasdust  needs  the  mys- 
tic, to  tie  his  statistics  to  the  stars.  We 
can  not  all  be  drilling  choir-boys  and 
managing  Sunday-school  concerts. 

Tn  spiritual  electricity  as  in  natural, 
positive  attracts  negative.  It  is  com- 
plementary colors  that  combine  to  pure 
white.  It  is  not  well  that  man — any  kind 
of  man — should  be  alone.  Moreover,  it 
is  impossible. 

perhaps,  then,  the  advocates  of  sects, 
*  seeing  it  imprudent  to  press  their 
argument,  will  reverse  it,  and  will  ask 
why  Church  union  is  necessary  if  all  the 
elements  for  effective  work  are  found  in 
each  denomination.  The  answer  may 
well  be  a  parable. 

Cor  our  Lord,  the  Master  Architect, 
*■  has  set  His  workmen  to  building  a 
vast  and  glorious  cathedral ;  but  we  have 
rejected  His  plans,  and  we  are  about 
devices  of  our  own. 

Here  in  a  corner  we  are  building  a 
little  wooden  church,  with  a  pointed 
steeple  and  green  blinds.  Over  against 
it  we  are  building  a  little  stone  church, 


Working  Together 


65 


with  a  Xorman  tower  and  stained-glass 
window's.  And  next  to  it  we  are  setting 
up  a  movable  church  of  corrugated  iron. 
And  its  neighbor  is  a  marble  church, 
elaborately  carved.  And  beyond  it  is  an 
unpainted  structure  of  rough  boards, 
with  a  bell  hung  bare  upon  the  roof. 
And  beyond  that  is  a  church  of  red 
brick.  And  thus  all  over  the  cathedral 
space  we  are  erecting  little  churches  to 
our  minds,  but  not  to  the  mind  of  the 
Great  Architect. 

V/et  upon  each  building  labors  a  full 


*  complement  of  workmen — artists  to 
make  the  drawings,  men  of  figures  to 
cast  up  the  estimates,  men  of  the  spade, 
men  of  the  chisel,  men  of  the  trowel, 
men  of  the  saw. 

C  ome  day,  somewhere  in  a  dusty  corner, 
Hilkiah  will  find  the  plan  of  the 
cathedral,  and  he  will  take  it  to  Shaphan. 
And  Shaphan  will  show  it  to  Josiah.  And 
Josiah  will  rend  his  clothes  and  will  say : 
"  Great  is  the  Architect's  wrath  upon  us, 
because  our  fathers  have  not  obeyed  this 
plan." 


'Tphen  (and  may  Huldah  be  silent!)  Jo- 
*  siah  will  bestir  himself,  and  Shaphan 
and  Hilkiah  will  aid,  and  all  the  people 
will  begin  to  build  the  cathedral.  They 
will  use  the  material  at  hand  and  the 
workmen  as  the>  are.  Sets  of  designers 
and  carpenters  and  masons  that  are 
wonted  to  one  another  may  continue  to 


66 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


work  together  and  under  their  familiar 
overseers. 

But  they  will  be  at  work  upon  a  cathe- 
dral !  ah,  they  will  be  at  work  upon 
a  cathedral ! 

And  while  one  set  of  workmen  takes 
the  apse,  another  will  take  the  nave ; 
while  one  adorns  the  choir,  a  fourth  will 
raise  a  tower ;  here  they  will  perfect  a 
rose  window  and  yonder  they  will  com- 
plete a  chapel.  There  will  be  scope  for 
all  talents  as  before,  cooperation  of  work- 
men as  before,  but,  as  never  before,  su- 
perb harmony  of  result,  and  obedience  to 
the  will  of  the  Great  Architect.  Thus 
through  the  centuries  the  cathedral  will 
grow,  its  flying  buttresses  spanning  all 
seas,  its  vaulted  roofs  overarching  all 
lands,  until,  like  Daniel's  stone  become 
a  mountain,  it  shall  fill  the  whole  earth. 

The  argument  for  Church  union  is  not 
that  it  brings  together  for  coopera- 
tion men  of  diverse  abilities,  but  that  it 
takes  these  sundry  cooperations  already 
organized,  turns  them  from  heterogene- 
ity to  harmony,  and  builds,  instead  of  a 
clashing  congeries  of  conventicles,  one 
temple  to  the  one  God. 

perhaps  this  result  is  granted  desirable, 
*■  but  men  argue  that  it  is  practically 
unobtainable.  "  No  human  mind,"  say 
the  sectaries,  "  could  wisely  direct  the 
vast  aflfairs  of  a  united  Church.  Why, 


Working  Together 


67 


as  it  is,  some  of  the  denominations  are 
unwieldy.  A  united  Church,  of  its  own 
weight,  would  fall  to  pieces,  and  we 
should  have  the  sects  again." 

It  is  the  old  plea  of  the  Anti-Federalists, 
which  our  ancestors  boldly  overrode 
(would  the  sectaries  read  history)  when 
they  formed  the  United  States. 


^  country  were  joined  in  a  United 
Church.  They  would  not  number,  alas ! 
two-thirds  of  the  population  of  the 
United  States.  Could  they  not  be  as 
effectively  directed?  Are  religious  af- 
fairs so  much  more  complex  than  secu- 
lar that  a  Congress,  a  Supreme  Court, 
and  a  President  can  be  devised  for  the 
one  and  not  for  the  other?  Are  men  as 
citizens  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  so  much 
more  unmanageable  than  the  same  men 
as  citizens  of  this  earthly  republic  ?  Are 
the  statesmen  of  the  Church  so  inferior 
to  the  statesmen  of  the  Nation?  Have 
these  sundered  States,  have  Massachu- 
setts and  Maryland,  have  Pennsylvania 
and  Mississippi,  have  Maine  and  Oregon, 
with  all  their  initial  jealousies,  rivalries, 
and  hostilities,  with  their  inherent  differ- 
ences of  soil  and  occupation  leading  to 
inevitable  and  severe  clash  of  interests, 
have  these  States  found  it  possible  to 
unite  in  a  Nation  that  has  proved  to 
be  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  effi- 
cient ever  formed,  and  shall  a  similar 


the   hundred   sects   of  this 


68 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


union  be  impossible  for  churches  that 
worship  a  common  Lord  ? 

T  I  ow  insincere  is  this  contention  of  the 
n  sectaries  a  single  thought  makes 
evident. 

P  or  here  are  one  hundred  denomina- 
*  tions,  and  each  of  them,  in  ambition 
and  effort,  and  generally  in  actual  fact, 
extends  over  the  entire  country.  The 
leaders  of  each  must  be  men  of  conti- 
nental vision  and  grasp.  They  must  take 
enormous  journeys,  be  capable  of  enor- 
mous exertions.  The  missionary  opera- 
tions of  each  lay  hands  upon  the  most 
distant  regions  of  the  globe. 

l_J  ere  we  have  one  hundred  sets  of 
*■  boards  —  bishops,  superintendents, 
secretaries,  assembly  committees,  what 
you  please — one  hundred  sets  of  men, 
each  of  whom  has  unaided  responsibility 
for  finances,  evangelism,  missions,  church 
erection,  religious  education,  discipline, 
doctrine,  charities,  that  reach  from  At- 
lantic to  Pacific,  and  even  to  the  Antipo- 
des. And  the  opponents  of  Church  union 
aflfect  to  believe  that  out  of  all  these  hun- 
dred sets  of  men  it  would  be  impossible 
to  choose  a  single  set  of  administrators 
that  would  be  capable  of  conducting  a 
united  Church,  whose  bounds  would  be 
no  greater  than  those  of  the  separate 
sects ! 


Working  Together 


69 


tudy  the  history  of  the  United  States 


^  or  of  the  German  Empire  before  the 
times  of  Washington  and  Bismarck. 
Upon  each  principahty  rested  the  com- 
phcated  cares  of  a  nation.  Each  State 
was  vexed  with  the  problems  of  an  em- 
pire— Indian  wars,  questions  of  boun- 
daries, civil  strife,  banks,  tariffs,  coin- 
age, suffrage,  tremendous  complexities 
and  stupendous  waste  of  time,  resources, 
and  energy. 

How  much  easier  is  it,  now  that  the 
State  legislatures  may  attend  to  local 
affairs  undistracted  by  national  difficul- 
ties, and  Congress  may  control  national 
aft'airs  unfretted  by  local  perplexities! 
That  national  and  local  politics  are  still 
somewhat  intertwined  is  no  objection  to 
the  argument,  since  all  are  agreed  that 
the  ideal  is  their  separation,  and  we  are 
moving  constantly  and  profitably  in  that 
direction. 

A  nd   how  much  easier  will  be  the 


effective  administration  of  the 
churches  when  each  denomination,  if  it 
is  continued,  becomes  a  State  of  a  United 
States  of  Christ,  when  men  whose  ca- 
pacity is  ten  may  be  set  over  the  tens, 
and  men  whose  capacity  is  one  hundred 
or  a  thousand  may  be  set  over  the  hun- 
dreds and  thousands,  and  men  of  Na- 
poleonic skill  may  direct  the  millions  !  In 
that  day  it  will  not  be  neces.sary  to  put 
small  men  in  places  painfully  too  large 


70 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


for  them,  as  so  often  happens  now  in 
our  muhiphed  national  rcHgious  organi- 
zations. Also  in  that  day  the  men  of 
splendid  organizing  and  executive  power 
will  not  turn  to  secular  afifairs  for  a  field 
meet  for  their  genius. 

Drothers,  I  have  a  vision  of  organized 
^  efficiencies  !  I  see  young  men  of  just 
and  high  ambition  turning  eagerly  to  the 
Church  of  God,  as  now  to  commerce, 
war,  and  politics.  I  see  them  finding, 
within  its  vast  and  orderly  domain,  scope 
for  all  their  talents,  opportunity  of  the 
utmost  influence.  I  see  them  falling  into 
position,  as  men  of  different  ranks  drop 
into  place  when  the  bugle  summons  an 
army.  With  freedom  to  do  their  best 
and  largest,  with  praise  for  all  and  in- 
spiration for  all,  each  content  and  active 
in  his  place,  I  see  the  Church  advancing. 
It  is  not  a  medley  of  independent  levies ; 
it  is  a  united  army,  under  one  banner, 
with  one  control,  one  .discipline,  and  one 
goal.  Before  its  onset — massive,  confi- 
dent, and  swift — not  even  the  organized 
forces  of  iniquity  can  stand. 

Tt  was  some  such  vision,  I  must  think, 
'  that  our  Captain  saw  when  He  beheld 
the  serried  muster  of  unrighteousness, 
the  cruelty  of  Rome,  the  lust  of  Greece, 
the  fanaticism  of  Jewry ;  when  He  saw, 
rising  in  opposition  to  those  consolidated 
and  effective  evils,  the  trembling  groups 


Working  Together 


71 


of  disorganized  believers ;  and  when,  in 
the  sorrow  of  what  was  and  tlie  hope  of 
what  might  be,  He  prayed  for  His  dis- 
ciples, as  still  He  prays  for  His  sundered 
churches, 

^Tbat  the^  all 
mai?  be 
one. 


VIII 


The  Peace  of  the  Churches 

TRANGELY  enough,  tho  the 
spirit  of  sectarianism  is  chiefly 
responsible  for  the  disturbance  of 
the  Church,  its  advocates  claim 
for  it  the  great  advantage  of  peace.  "  In 
a  denomination,"  they  allege,  "  there  is 
no  wrangling  over  doctrines  and  meth- 
ods, as  all  think  alike ;  but  attempt  to 
unite  the  sects  and  there  will  be  inter- 
minable disputes,  culminating  in  violent 
ruptures  that  will  leave  their  baneful 
scars  for  generations." 

A  las  for  Christians,  when  such  things 
may  be  said  of  them  freely  and  with- 
out rebuke !  Alas  for  the  long,  sad  his- 
tory that  seems  to  justify  the  charge ! 

Cor  is  it  not  an  admitted  disgrace  when 
^  brothers  of  the  flesh  can  not  live  to- 
gether, when  it  must  be  said  of  them  that 
they  will  keep  the  peace  only  apart? 

A  nd  how  must  we  regard  spiritual 
^  brothers  whose  only  guaranty  of 
peace  is  separation,  especially  when  their 
Elder  Brother  is  the  Prince  of  Peace? 

D  rothers,  born  of  the  self-same  Spirit 
^  of  Love,  believe  them  not !  While 
He  dwells  in  us  there  are  always  pos- 

72 


The  Peace  of  the  Churches 


73 


sible  for  us  such  miracles  of  amity  that 
unbehevers,  seeing  us,  shall  cry,  "  How 
these  Christians  love  one  another!  " 

But  aside  from  our  trust  in  the  funda- 
mentals of  our  religion  and  our  con- 
fidence in  the  goodness  of  the  average 
Christian,  we  can  refute  the  argument 
with  the  fact. 

Cor  are  union  bodies,  largely  represent- 


*  ative,  more  exposed  to  quarrels  than 
sectarian  or  sectional  bodies?  Universal 
experience  proves  the  contrary.  Has  our 
national  Congress  ever  witnessed  scenes 
as  stormy  as  those  that  have  vexed  State 
legislatures — mob  violence,  night  barri- 
cades, the  interference  of  the  military? 
And  the  rare  personal  encounters  that 
smirch  the  history  of  Congress,  is  their 
like  to  be  found  in  the  long  and  rapidly 
lengthening  record  of  international  con- 
gresses and  commissions,  tho  often  the 
latter  are  in  charge  of  cases  that  involve 
the  bitter  passions  of  the  nations  ?  "  Tav- 
ern brawls,"  "  village  brawls,"  we  say ; 
but  large  interests  sober  men,  and  give 
them  dignity. 


he  principle  is  most  pointedly  illus- 


*  tratcd  in  the  great  interdenomina- 
tional religious  movements  that  have 
sprung  up  within  a  century,  and  that  are 
furnishing  convincing  proof  of  the  en- 
tire feasibility  of  Church  union. 


74 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


here  have  been  disputes  in  denomina- 


*■  tional  mission  boards — serious  dis- 
putes, even  to  the  point  of  denominational 
rupture ;  but  when  the  blessed  ecumenical 
missionary  conventions  assemble,  or  in 
the  informal  consultations  of  missionary 
secretaries  from  all  denoininations  that 
are  growing  ever  more  frequent  and  in- 
fluential, the  utmost  harmony  prevails. 

In  the  Young  Men's  and  Young  Wom- 
en's Christian  Associations  and  in  the 
closely  associated  Student  \'olunteer 
^^lovement.  where  all  sects  meet,  they 
have  never  found  it  anything  but  easy  to 
work  together  in  the  spirit  of  love. 

■T^he  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 


all  the  churches,  has  confronted  serious 
and  earnest  differences  of  opinion  as  to 
method,  but  maintains  its  Christian  sis- 
terhood with  peace  and  augmenting 
power. 

j  n  the  denominational  young  people's  so- 
cieties  the  disputes  are  not  ir  frequent, 
and  have  even  reached  the  courts,  while 
the  interdenominational  Christian  En- 
deavor Society,  reaching  into  eighty  de- 
nominations, and  covering  all  lands, 
holds  enormous  conventions  and  main- 
tains the  closest  fellowship  in  work,  and 
has  never  known  a  quarrel. 


membership  drawn  from 


The  Peace  of  the  Churches 


75 


In  the  Sunday-schools,  whatever  unrest 
A  and  disturbance  has  arisen  has  not 
sprung  from  the  interdenominational 
management.  Where  the  workers  gather 
from  all  the  churches,  in  International 
Lesson  Committee,  or  Executive  Com- 
mittee, or  Convention,  or  Editors'  Asso- 
ciation, or  in  the  smaller  State  and  coun- 
ty conventions,  or  the  city  Bible-study 
classes,  they  meet  as  Brothers  of  the 
Book. 

^hese  illustrations  might  be  greatly  ex- 
tended,  and  might  include  the  tract 
societies,  the  associated  charities,  the 
municipal  reform  league^,  evangelistic 
campaigns,  and  many  other  union  labors 
of  the  churches. 

nphe  commonest  remark  in  these  noble 
*  assemblies  and  associations  is  upon 
their  victorious  brotherhood.  "  Why, 
one  can  not  tell  Baptist  from  Methodist ! 
No  one  knows  who  is  Presbyterian  or 
Lutheran  or  Congregationalist."  This  is 
said,  over  and  over,  in  delighted  surprise. 
The  wonder  is  that  it  should  be  a  wonder. 

A  ttention  can  not  too  frequently  be  di- 
^  rected  to  the  fact  that  there  already 
exist,  peacefully,  in  most,  if  not  all,  de- 
nominations, differences  as  wide-spread 
as  those  that  separate  the  sects  and  hold 
them  apart.  That  would  seem  to  reduce 
the  sectarian  argument  to  an  absurdity. 


76 


Thzi  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


In  the  West  you  will  find  the  Methodist 
church  of  Eggleston's  stories,  the 
church  of  the  circuit-rider,  the  camp- 
meeting,  and  exhilaration.  But  in  To- 
ronto it  is  the  cathedral  church,  the 
church  of  the  cultured  aristocrat. 

T  have  known  in  the  heart  of  New  Eng- 
*  land  a  Congregational  church  with  an 
Episcopalian  liturgy,  where  surpliced 
priest  and  marching  choir  omitted  no 
devout  detail. 


he  permitted  variations  of  Calvinism 


*  one  may  find  among  Presbyterian 
ministers,  the  liberty  of  close  or  open 
communion  allowed  to  Baptist  churches, 
the  striking  differences  in  spirit  and 
method  found  in  the  Broad,  Low,  and 
High  churches  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land and  the  Episcopal  churches  of  this 
country,  similar  variations  among  the 
Lutherans — all  these,  and  many  more 
that  might  be  cited,  would  easily  suffice, 
in  less  enlightened  days,  to  furnish  bases 
for  new  sects. 

T~'hat  the  sects  are  not  formed,  that 


^  Christian  brethren  of  diflfering  belief, 
and  sometimes  widely  differing  belief, 
find  it  possible  to  live  together  in  one 
Church,  to  do  a  great  work  together,  to 
be  proud  of  their  Church  and  happy  in  it, 
and  to  lose  in  their  cooperative  labors  the 
sense  of  their  differences  and  sometimes 
the  differences  themselves,  is  evidence 
that  the  like  is  possible  on  a  larger  scale. 


The  Peace  of  the  Churches 


77 


What  causes  disputes  in  local 
churches  when  they  lamentably 
arise?  Is  it  some  point  of  Calvinism  or 
Arminianism  ?  No ;  it  is  such  a  matter 
as  the  choice  of  preachers.  Is  it  the 
form  in  which  the  Lord's  Supper  shall 
be  administered  ?  No ;  it  is  far  more 
likely  to  be  a  church  fair  or  the  choir. 

'"Phat  is,  when  a  church  quarrels  within 
*  itself,  or  when  neighboring  churches 
quarrel  with  each  other,  the  question  at 
issue  is  not  some  point  of  doctrine  or 
mode  of  administration ;  it  is  almost  al- 
ways some  personal  matter  of  a  kind 
that  would  arise  no  more  in  a  united 
Church  than  in  the  churches  as  now 
isolated. 

Indeed,  as  the  affairs  of  a  united  Church 
*  are  simpler  than  the  total  of  its  sepa- 
rated components,  there  would  seem  to 
be  fewer  chances  for  quarrel.  Moreover, 
they  would  be  conducted  with  more  dig- 
nity, and,  of  necessity,  with  more  sys- 
tem, and  both  dignity  and  system  make 
mightily  for  peace. 

Cor  illustration,  compare  small  corpo- 
»  rations,  so  often  distracted  by  petty 
feuds,  with  the  massive,  quiet  workings 
of  the  great  corporations.  Is  not  a  Gen- 
eral Conference,  a  General  Assembly, 
more  impressive,  orderly,  and  peaceful 
than  a  local  conference  or  a  presbytery? 
Arc  not  senates,  representing  wide  areas 


78 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


of  population,  more  dignified  and  serene 
than  lower  houses? 

When  we  think  of  Church  union,  why 
do  we  fly  to  picturing  always  the 
clash  of  diverse  doctrines  ?  Why  not 
think  of  the  simplifying  of  machinery? 

IT  ere  are  three  little  churches  uniting 
^  ^  in  one  strong  church.  One  pastor 
to  choose,  perhaps,  instead  of  three ;  and 
certainly  no  more  minds  about  him  in  the 
three  churches  than  in  th.e  one,  for  that 
would  be  impossible.  One  choir  instead 
of  three,  and  only  one  choir-leader.  One 
organist  instead  of  three.  One  Svuiday- 
school  superintendent.  One  janitor.  One 
set  of  church  finances.  One  "  ladies' 
aid  "  society.  In  fine,  only  one  instead 
of  three  of  each  of  the  causes  that 
chiefly  make  trouble  among  Christians 
when  they  set  out  to  work  together. 
Would  not  that  mean  more  peace? 

But,  more  than  on  anything  else,  I 
should  rely  for  the  peace  of  the 
united  Church  on  the  unifying  power  of 
enthusiastic  and  successful  work.  The 
defeated  political  party,  the  party  in  op- 
position, is  always  the  one  that  is  chiefly 
torn  by  factions.  Victory  brings  peace 
and  union.  Defeated  churches,  churches 
making  little  or  no  progress  against  the 
world,  clunchcs  discouraged  and  barely 
holding  their  own,  are  quite  invariably 
churches  torn  by  schisms.  But  a  united 
Church,  strong  and  exultant  in  its  new 


The  Peace  of  the  Churches 


79 


power,  rejoicing  in  the  new  ease  with 
which  it  works,  inspired  by  new  fellow- 
sliip  with  men  and  new  communion  with 
God,  seeing  its  enemies  falling  on  this 
side  and  that,  such  a  Church  would  look 
back  with  horror  and  shame  on  the  old 
days  of  discord  and  division,  and  hence- 
forth not  to  love  the  brethren  and  labor 
side  by  side  would  be  held  the  major 
heresy,  as  indeed  it  is. 

A  s  men  work  together  differences  dis- 


^  appear.  The  longer  a  business  part- 
nership is  maintained,  if  it  is  a  righteous 
partnership,  the  more  smoothly  it  runs. 
Husband  and  wife,  after  years  of  joy 
and  sorrow  together,  come  even  to  look 
alike,  and  always  to  think  alike  and  act 
alike.  Large  families  of  children  are 
notoriously  better  behaved  and  more 
peaceful  than  small  families. 

/^n  the  contrary,  an  isolated  life,  a 


^-^  lonely  life,  grows  ever  more  crab- 
bed, more  opinionated,  more  harshly  in- 
dividual. And  the  longer  one  lives  apart 
the  jnore  his  disagreeable  peculiarities 
become  accented. 

It  is  so  with  the  denominations.  Every 
^  year  that  union  is  postponed  our  angu- 
larities become  more  acute  and  union  be- 
comes more  difficult.  Every  decade  of 
union,  after  it  blessedly  comes,  will  teach 
us  how  better  to  live  together,  and  will 
assimilate  us  more  perfectly  in  doctrine 
and  methods. 


8o  That  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


Oh,  thou  Prince  of  Peace,  we  join  in 
Thy  prayer  for  that  day !  May  it 
speedily  arrive.  May  Thy  children  see 
that  if  they  live  together  and  work  to- 
gether their  differences  will  melt  away 
in  Thy  glad  smile  of  approval.  As  we 
take  up  the  prayer  of  Thy  birthday, 
"  Peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  men,"  that 
prayer  of  the  angels,  so  may  we  receive 
and  make  our  own — eagerly  our  own — 
Thine  own  prayer  of  the  death-day, 


ZLbat  tbei?  all 
mai5  be 
one. 


IX 


Truth  is  One 

HRIST  said  most  solemnly  and 
emphatically,  "  I  am  the  Truth." 
He  is  the  Truth  as  to  nature. 
Without  Him  was  not  anything 
made  that  hath  been  made.  He  is  the 
Truth  as  to  spirit.  The  words  that  He 
has  spoken  are  spirit  and  life.  And  as 
Christ  is  One  and  can  not  deny  Himself 
or  contradict  Himself,  so  harmoniously 
and  absolutely  must  Truth  be  one. 

D  egarding  the  natural  world,  men 
everywhere  see  this  to  be  so.  Even 
in  the  days  of  Copernicus  it  was  per- 
ceived that  he  and  Ptolemy  could  not 
both  be  right.  However  men  may  specu- 
late on  the  cause  of  gravity,  all  agree 
that  there  can  be  but  one  cause  ;  and  as  to 
Newton's  laws,  there  are  not  two  possible 
ways  of  viewing  them.  Spectrum  analy- 
sis is  one,  and  not  susceptible  of  Old 
School  and  New  School  schisms.  The 
properties  of  a  chemical  element  known 
for  one  laboratory  are  known  for  all 
laboratories.    Science  is  one. 

'npheology  also  should  be  a  science,  and 
*■   one.    While  the  lower  truth,  the 
truth  as  to  things,  is  a  unit,  it  may  not 
be  that  the  higher  truth,  the  truth  as  to 
8i 


82 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


souls,  is  diverse.  God  is  one.  His  trinity 
but  illustrates  in  three  spheres  His  unity. 
On  radiating  lines,  the  farther  you  go 
from  the  center  the  more  difficult  is  it  to 
perceive  the  common  origin.  Therefore 
it  should  be  hard  to  trace  a  unity  among 
tilings,  and  easier  to  see  the  unity  as,  in 
the  realm  of  spirit,  we  draw  closer  to  the 
great  spiritual  Source  of  all. 


1  standing  reproach  to  religious  men. 
Shall  we  not  see  more  clearly  as  we 
approach  the  Light?  Has  God  two 
minds  about  Himself,  or  two  hundred? 
Shall  the  children  of  the  world  see  eye 
to  eye  in  regard  to  aluminum  and  the 
larva  of  Vanessa  Antiopa,  but  the  chil- 
dren of  God  dispute  about  their  Father 
and  His  ways? 

Admitting,  as  all  must  admit,  that  the 
higher  the  knowledge  the  more  diffi- 
cult is  the  science,  and  the  loftiest  of  all 
is  the  knowledge  of  God,  yet  no  science 
but  theology  has  interpreted  itself.  The 
stars  have  not  sent  Orion  to  unfold  in 
the  colleges  of  earth  the  secrets  of  the 
heavens.  The  trilobite  and  dinosaur  nor 
even  Pliocene  man  has  revisited  earth 
to  disclose  the  story  of  the  rocks.  No 
chemical  element  has  found  a  voice  to 
whisper  from  a  test-tube  the  hidden 
things  of  matter.  But  theology  is  unique 
among  the  sciences,  in  that  it  has  sent 
from  among  its  mysteries  a  Teacher,  has 


of  theology  are  a 


Truth  is  One 


83 


brought  its  farthest  facts  near,  and  dis- 
played the  Infinite  in  daily  life. 

What  a  defeat  to  Christ's  revelation 
of  God  are  our  quarreling  theolo- 
gies !  What  a  disappointment,  what  an 
anti-climax,  what  a  distruction  of  the 
hopes  of  heaven ! 

'7~^hcre  is  One  body,  and  One  spirit, 
-*  even  as  also  ye  were  called  in  One 
hope  of  your  calling;  ONE  Lord,  ONE 
faith,  ONE  baptism,  ONE  God  and  Fa- 
ther of  all,  who  is  over  all,  and  through 
all  and  in  all. 

ONE  Lord.  Christ  is  not  divided. 
He  was  not  one  Christ  to  Peter  and 
another  to  John  and  another  to  Thomas. 
Men  went  away  from  Him  reporting 
different  things,  but  not  diverse  things, 
not  contradictory  things.  We  have  four 
Gospels,  but  the  four  are  one. 

ONE  Lord.  Not  a  Baptist  Christ,  and 
a  Methodist  Christ,  and  a  Re- 
formed-Church -in  -  the  -  United  -  States 
Christ,  but  ONE  Christ. 

But,"  it  is  argued  by  the  sectaries, 
"  may  there  not  be  dififerent  views 
of  one  person,  tho  he  is  but  one?  Is  not 
Nai)oIcon  admired  by  some  and  despised 
by  others?  Are  there  not  two  quite  dis- 
tinct ideas  regarding  Cromwell's  char- 
acter? Is  not  Joan  of  Arc  viewed  di- 
versely by  dififerent  historians?   Of  your 


84 


That  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


own  acquaintances,  is  there  a  man  of 
whom  all  the  town  thinks  alike  ?  " 

nprue ;  there  are  varying  views  of  Cal- 


haps  as  many  different  views  as  there  are 
Presbyterians.  Wesley  and  Luther  pre- 
sent diverse  aspects  to  this  ^lethodist  and 
that,  to  this  Lutheran  and  that.  Each 
thinks  his  own  Calvin,  Wesley,  Luther, 
to  be  the  true  one.  But,  nevertheless, 
each  does  not  go  straightway  and  found 
a  sect,  but  he  remains  a  Presbyterian,  a 
Methodist,  or  a  Lutheran.  And  if  there 
are  formed,  as  of  course  there  are,  sects 
among  the  followers  of  a  human  teacher, 
many  Lutheran  bodies,  many  Wesleyan 
bodies,  many  Calvinistic,  it  is  entirely 
evident  that  only  one  of  each  sect,  if,  in- 
deed, one,  can  represent  Luther  or  Wes- 
ley or  Calvin  wholly. 

And  if  it  is  a  wrong  to  take  a  half-Cal- 
vin and  exalt  him  into  a  church 
called  Calvinist,  or  a  half-Wesley  or  a 
half-Luther  and  make  of  them  churches 
called  Wesleyan  or  Lutheran,  how  much 
more  evil  is  it  to  take  half-Christ,  and 
call  the  church  Christian ! 

It  is  not  to  the  point  to  say  that  each 
sect  honestly  thinks  that  it  embodies 
all-Christ.  Man  is  a  reasoning  being, 
and  it  is  plain  to  any  child  that  if  any 
one  sect  is  right  in  the  claim,  the  other 
ninety-nine  sects  are  wrong. 


among  Presbyterians,  per- 


Truth  is  One 


85 


Indeed,  in  the  presence  of  these  multi- 
pHed  bodies  of  Christian  beUevers,  all 
showing  forth  the  beautiful  spirit  of 
Christ,  and  full,  every  one  of  them,  of 
Christly  deeds,  when  any  sect  lays  claim 
to  all-Christ,  that  very  claim  is  instant 
proof  that  a  most  important  part  of 
Christ  is  lacking — His  humility. 

"Vet  Christ  is  ONE,  and  all  His  churches 


*  should  have  Him,  and  all  of  Him. 
Complacently  to  say,  "  Oh,  the  different 
denominations  simply  get  different  views 
of  Christ,"  is  scandalously  to  underesti- 
mate the  importance  of  Christian  truth. 
If  there  is  any  view  of  Christ  important 
enough  to  warrant  the  establishment  of 
a  sect  upon  it,  it  is  important  enough  for 
all  to  need  it ;  it  is  vital.  To  acquiesce 
in  the  continuance  of  sects  is  to  be  con- 
tent that  the  churches  should  continue 
to  know  only  half-Christs. 


)((/  One  faith,    li  in  the  realm  of 


sight  Christians  may  not  be  allowed 
to  part  company,  how  much  less  in  the 
land  of  closed  eyes !  Yet  it  is  precisely 
here  that  the  sectaries  find  their  most 
plausible  excuse. 

"  por  how,"  they  ask,  "  can  we  see  eye 


*  to  eye  when  we  can  not  see  at  all  ? 
or  only  through  a  glass  darkly  ?  In  this 
realm  of  mystery,  arc  not  confusions  un- 
avoidable ?  Where  '  all  nuist  '  stretch 
lame  hands  of  faith,  and  grope,'  can  we 
maintain  a  phalanx?    Nay,  can  we  not 


86 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


proceed  better  through  the  darkness  in 
small  parties?  " 

No!  There  is  ONE  faith.  And  her 
hands  are  not  lame  and  groping, 
but  perfect,  strong,  and  sure.  Faith  is 
substance,  and  not  shadow  ;  evidence,  and 
not  obscurity.  Faith  is  a  shield,  faith  is 
a  foundation,  faith  is  all  that  is  tangible, 
concrete,  stable,  and  permanent. 

If  in  the  realm  of  faith  we  can  not  see, 
it  is  not  because  of  darkness,  but  ex- 
cess of  light ;  because  faith  leads  us  near- 
est to  the  Great  White  Throne  whereon 
is  seated  the  dazzling  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness. 

No ;  by  faith  and  not  by  sight  we  per- 
ceive the  blessed  fact  of  the  atone- 
ment. When  we  try  to  measure  that  glow- 
ing truth  our  tape  line  is  burned  ofif.  We 
can  not  define  it  any  more  than  an  artist 
can  draw  that  pulsing,  infinitely  varied 
thing,  the  sun's  corona.  For  the  atone- 
ment is  the  Corona  of  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness. 

But  this  faith  in  the  atonement  is  ONE 
faith.  There  is  but  one  corona,  the 
no  two  transits  of  the  moon  show  us  the 
same  vision. 

By  faith  and  not  by  sight  we  come  to 
know  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible.  It 
is  the  Iloly  Spirit,  and  not  human  intel- 
ligence, that  takes  the  deep  things  of  the 


Truth  is  One 


87 


Book  and  reveals  them  to  us.  His  Spirit 
bears  witness  with  our  spirits  that  these 
words  are  His,  and  with  no  other  book 
do  we  have  such  an  experience.  The 
Bible  comes  to  the  reverent  reader  not  as 
writing  but  as  speaking,  and  when  we 
try  to  define  its  inspiration  it  is  hke  try- 
ing to  put  a  voice  under  a  microscope. 

nphere  are  many  theories  of  inspiration, 


^  but  there  is  only  this  ONE  faith  in 
the  inspired  Book.  As  we  debate  theories 
we  form  sects ;  but  the  more  we  rejoice 
together  in  this  faith,  the  closer  is  our 
Christian  unity. 

Co  is  it  with  the  other  mysteries  of  the- 
ology,  those  blinding  electric  glories 
where  the  finite  touches  the  infinite.  Of 
them  all  there  are  endless  theories,  be- 
cause the  finite  can  not  understand  the 
infinite ;  our  little  human  history,  our  re- 
stricted experiences,  afford  a  base-line 
too  short  to  give  us  a  parallax.  But  they 
are  all  true,  and  we  know  them  to  be  true, 
but  not  by  theories.  We  shall  know  them 
none  the  less  but  far  more  when  we  stop 
theorizing  about  them,  and  admit  the 
evidential  value  of  faith.  For  in  regard 
to  them  all  there  is  OXE  faith,  rising 
calm  and  beautiful  from  the  clashing 
surges  of  thought;  and  as  we  rest  upon 
that  ONE  faith  the  churches  will  be  one. 

A  nd  OXE  baptism.  How  strange  that 
^  this  rite,  performed  in  all-dissolving, 
all-uniting  water,  should  cause  the  most 


88 


That  They  AU  May  Be  One 


persistent  of  schisms  in  the  body  of 
Christ !  that  this  token  of  our  separation 
from  the  world  of  sin  and  union  with  our 
Redeemer  should  separate  us  from  one 
another !  It  is  well  that  the  Savior  left 
us  few  rites,  since  we  find  in  the  few  so 
much  occasion  for  mischief. 

There  is  but  ONE  baptism,  that  into 
the  name,  the  character,  of  the  Fa- 
ther, the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  The 
reality  of  the  baptism  is  proved  by  unity 
of  character,  God  in  us  and  we  in  God. 
An  equal  proof,  and  one  too  commonly 
neglected,  is  union  with  all  that  have 
thus  united  with  God,  "  that  they  may 
all  be  one ;  even  as  Thou,  Father,  art 
in  me,  and  I  in  Thee." 

The  baptism  that  alone  can  be  the  ONE 
baptism  of  our  Lord  can  not  result 
in  sectarian  divisions.  Those  that  re- 
ceive it  have  all  things  common,  having 
in  common  the  ONE  in  whom  all  things 
subsist.  Where  the  spirit  of  division  is, 
the  spirit  of  baptism  can  not  be.  Where 
the  schism  among  Christ's  followers  con- 
cerns this  very  matter  of  baptism,  that 
schism  is  well-nigh  blasphemy.  It  is  di- 
vorce at  the  marriage  altar ;  it  is  poison 
in  the  communion  cup. 


us  cease  to  regard  one  another, 
whether  our  neighbors  are  baptized  in 
clue  form  or  not,  and  let  each  one  of  us 
in  anxious  humility  examine  only  his 


brothers,  for  a  twelvemonth  let 


Truth  is  One 


89 


own  heart,  and  ask  of  himself  alone  this 
vital  question,  "  Have  /  entered  into  the 
ONE  baptism,  into  the  character  of  God, 
which  is  love  ?  " 

Tf  all  would  do  that,  long  before  the 
*  year's  end  Christians,  united  in  the 
spiritual  baptism,  in  fear  and  shame  and 
lov^  would  have  united  in  the  material 
baptism,  and  agreement  in  the  meaning 
would  have  compelled  agreement  on  the 
mode.* 


nd  ONE  God  and  Father  of  all,  who 


is  over  oil,  and  through  all,  and  in 


If  we  know  anything  at  all  about  this 
ONE  BEING,  wc  know  that  He  has 
a  passion  for  unity.  With  all  its  infinite 
diversity,  the  universe  is  one.  Not  a 
sparrow  but  is  knit  by  a  thousand  ties 
to  the  Pleiades.  Through  leaf  and  comet, 
scarabee  and  Phidias,  Matterhorn  and 
pencil-tip,  reach  the  same  pervading  laws 
of  gravity  and  chemic  force,  heat  and 
light,  form  and  color.  Pulsations  of  the 
same  ether,  relations  of  the  same  ele- 
ments, affinities  the  most  minute  and  un- 
expected, bind  them  together.  All  the 
world  and  all  worlds  are  proofs  of  the 

*  Note  that  I  do  not  even  imply  wliat  that 
agreement  would  be ;  frankly,  I  have  no  idea, 
and  can  not  range  myself  on  cither  side  of  this 
controversy  among  men  of  wisdom  and  godli- 
ness. I  am  only  sure  that  there  would  be  an 
agreement. 


all. 


90 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


unimaginable  differences  that  may  exist 
within  the  bosom  of  perfect  unity. 

A  nd  while  it  is  in  nature,  in  the  realm 
of  physics,  in  the  evolution  of  the 
planets,  in  the  progress  of  plant  and 
animal  life,  that  God,  being  undisturbed, 
most  clearly  discloses  His  unity,  yet  He 
has  made  even  the  schismatic  wratl*  of 
man  to  praise  Him,  and  His  providence 
has  knit  into  one  fabric  even  the  con- 
trary warp  and  woof  of  human  history. 
Through  the  ages  one  increasing  pur- 
pose runs.  Alcibiades  is  linked  with 
Talleyrand,  Jeroboam  with  Bismarck. 
Through  a  thousand  years  sixty-six 
books  will  be  written,  but  the  thousand 
years  with  God  are  as  a  day,  and  at  the 
close  the  Bible  is  discovered  to  be  one. 

How  is  God  chagrined  by  the  carica- 
ture we  have  drawn  of  Him !  a  hun-. 
dred-headed  monster,  each  head  with  a 
separate  altar ! 

He  who  has  so  stamped  upon  us  His 
one  image  that  every  bone  in  one 
man  is  matched  by  bones  in  all  the  others, 
yes,  and  every  branching  nerve,  how 
must  He  be  displeased  when  we  can  not 
kneel  to  Him  in  the  same  Church ! 

IT  e  who  has  made  truth  one,  and  the 
^  highest  truth  most  indubitably  one, 
what  wrath  and  sorrow  must  fill  His 
heart  when  we  tear  His  truth  to  tatters, 
and  each  bows  down  before  a  shred  of  it ! 


Trath  is  One 


91 


nd  after  this  long  waiting  and  these 


councils  of  the  Most  High  if  men  would 
yield  themselves  to  the  ONE  Spirit,  and 
be  led  by  Him  at  last  to  the  OXE  truth, 
the  OXE  baptism,  and  the  OXE  faith, 
and  to  the  OXE  Lord,  whose  dying 
prayer  was,  as  His  living  and  perpetual 
prayer  is, 


many  follies,  what  joy  would  fill  the 


^bat  tbe^  all 
ma)?  be 
one  I 


X 


The  Search  for  Truth 

ILL  the  truth  that  God  wants  us 
to  know  is  discoverable.  If  there 
is  any  truth  that  God  withholds 
from  us,  it  is  because  we  can  not 
discover  it.  Whatever  truth  is  discovered 
is  found  to  be  one  with  all  other  truth. 

If  two  persons,  both  seeking  the  truth 
on  any  matter,  discover  discord,  they 
have  not  found  the  truth.  One  may  have 
found  it,  or  each  may  have  found  part 
of  it,  but  both  can  not  have  found  it,  or 
they  would  have  been  agreed. 

There  is  often  told,  in  defense  of  the 
sects,  the  story  of  the  knights  that 
approached  a  shield  from  opposite  sides. 
One  declared  it  a  golden  shield,  the  other 
insisted  that  it  was  silver.  They  were 
about  coming  to  blows,  the  story  runs, 
when  a  sage  passed  by  and  showed  the 
knights  "  that  both  were  right,"  since  the 
shield  was  gold  on  one  side  and  silver  on 
the  other.  Thus,  the  application  is  made, 
all  sects  are  right,  each  honestly  seeing 
one  side  of  the  truth. 

But  really  the  sage  was  wrong,  be- 
cause both  knights  were  wrong,  as 
all  sectarianism  is  wrong.    It  was  not  a 
gold  shield  and  a  silver  shield,  but  a 
92 


The  Search  for  Truth 


93 


gold-and-silver  shield.  The  truth  about 
one  thing  is  never  learned  till  we  have 
looked  on  all  sides  of  it. 

No  Baptist  has  learned  the  truth  about 
baptism  until  he  has  viewed  it  also 
from  the  Congregationalist  standpoint, 
and  no  Congregationalist  till  he  has 
viewed  it  also  from  the  Baptist  stand- 
point. The  Presbyterian  gazes  on  one 
side  of  the  truth  of  election  and  predesti- 
nation, the  Methodist  gazes  on  the  other 
side ;  but  the  truth  is  learned  only  by  ex- 
changing sides.  The  Anglican  has  all 
his  life  seen  the  truth  of  episcopal  ordi- 
nation and  priestly  succession  from  one 
direction,  and  the  Quaker  from  the  op- 
posite direction  ;  neither  is  right,  because 
each  is  half  right. 

XT  ow  it  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
things  in  the  world  to  change  one's 
mental  viewpoint,  to  see  a  thing  through 
another's  eyes.  It  involves  the  absurdity 
of  lifting  one's  self  by  one's  boot-straps, 
of  being  in  two  places  at  the  same  time; 
because  there  is  no  profit  (since  there  is 
no  comparison  and  no  uniting)  in  seeing 
through  another's  eyes  unless  at  the  same 
time  you  see  through  your  own.  We 
must  contrive  the  impossible ;  we  must 
look  on  both  sides  of  the  shield  at  once. 

"  put  yourself  in  his  place."    As  this 
'     is  the  center  of  theological  dis- 
closures, it  is  also  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple in  the  study  of  theology. 


94  That  They  All  May  Be  One 


T  t  needs  the  poet's  imagination,  the  god- 
*  like  insight  that  perceives  what  an- 
other's place  is,  and  that  it  is  not  one's 
own.  But  that  is  not  enough,  for  poets 
are  notably  bad  theologians. 

It  needs  the  Christ's  self-sacrifice.  Only 
as  one's  self,  one's  pride  and  prejudice 
and  preference,  is  nailed  to  the  cross, 
can  one  really  get  far  enough  away  from 
self  to  see  a  truth  through  another's  eyes. 
Thus  the  way  of  the  cross,  the  way  of 
self-abnegation,  is  the  way  of  theology, 
of  a  complete  understanding  of  God. 

A  nd  therefore,  tho  it  is  one  of  the 
^  most  difficult  things  in  the  world  to 
change  one's  mental  viewpoint,  it  is  diffi- 
cult only  as  essential  Christianity  is  diffi- 
cult. To  one  who  is  crucified  with  Christ 
it  is  not  difficult,  but  easy ;  not  easy,  but 
necessary.  And  this  is  only  one  added 
to  the  many,  many  reasons  why  the  prog- 
ress of  Christianity  is  dependent  upon 
the  union  of  Christians. 

For  truth  is  discoverable,  thus  discover- 
able, the  whole  truth,  through  hu- 
mility, sympathy,  active  love,  and  self- 
denial.  Sects  may  logically  be  built  upon 
undiscovcrable  truth — logically,  but  how 
foolishly  and  wrongfully!  Sects  may 
never  be  built  wisely  upon  discoverable 
truth,  for  that  truth,  the  whole  truth,  is 
one,  and  to  be  obtained  by  all. 


The  Search  for  Truth 


95 


There  is  far  too  little  study  of  doctrines, 
far  too  little  discussion  of  them.  The- 
ology is  the  loftiest  theme  that  can  oc- 
cupy the  human  mind ;  politics  is  next  in 
rank.  Why  are  these  topics  tabooed 
from  polite  conversation  ?  We  may  talk 
about  Slade,  the  murderer,  but  not  about 
the  Creator  of  life ;  about  the  bubbles  on 
the  social  wave,  but  not  about  the  Flood 
of  Years.  We  may  discuss  persons  but 
not  principles,  transitories  but  not  eter- 
nities. Even  our  religious  papers  would 
look  coldly  on  an  essay  on  regeneration, 
tho  written  by  a  Phillips  Brooks,  but 
would  welcome  with  both  hands  an  ar- 
ticle on  the  defacement  of  landscapes  by 
advertising,  the  author  being  Dabsky,  the 
infidel  artist.  And  as  for  pulpit  dis- 
courses, what  preacher  would  dare  to 
announce  a  series  of  "  doctrinal  ser- 
mons "  ?  What  parishioner  but  utters 
those  words  in  a  deprecating  tone? 

"lA/ hence  this  dislike  of  doctrinal  stud- 
»  V    ies  ?    Whence  but  from  our  sec- 
tarian divisions  ? 

In  the  past,  theological  discussions  have 
^  been  conducted  quite  uniformly  in  the 
wrong  spirit,  and  tlic  sad  result  is  the 
sects.  IVIen  have  debated  theology  rather 
than  studied  it ;  they  have  sought  to  com- 
pel assent  to  their  opinion  rather  than  by 
comparison  of  views  to  discover  the 
truth ;  their  motive  has  been  conquest 
rather  than  insight,  and  the  product  has 


96 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


been  not  theology  but  dogma.  How  sel- 
dom have  men  approached  a  theological 
subject  in  a  spirit  of  tender,  loving  sym- 
pathy with  those  of  opposing  judgment! 
How  seldom  have  they  sought  honestly, 
and  first  of  all,  to  "  put  themselves  in 
their  place,"  learn  precisely  their  motives, 
attitude,  and  reasons !  How  seldom  are 
even  their  arguments  reported  fairly,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  far  more  important 
temper  and  purpose  back  of  the  argu- 
ments !  And  so — ah,  most  lamentable  of 
all  earthly  sights ! — lovers  of  the  same 
Lord  have  come  to  hate  and  despise  one 
another,  and  these  gashes  have  been 
made  in  the  body  of  Christ. 


people,  editors  and  readers,  are  pro- 
foundly weary  and  ashamed.  We  have 
come  to  see  the  sin,  the  monstrous  and 
illogical  sin,  of  theological  wrangling, 
which  is  as  one  would  say  cold  fire  or 
hateful  love.  We  dread  to  fall  into  the 
sin  again,  and  we  avoid  it  in  the  wrong 
way. 

P  or  the  cause  of  theological  wrangling 
*  is  not  theology  ;  it  is  wrangling.  The- 
ology is  the  study  of  God,  who  is  Love. 
It  is  impossible  to  study  theology  except 
in  the  spirit  of  love.  Love  is  the  atmos- 
phere of  theology,  as  accuracy  is  the  at- 
mosphere of  chemistry  and  idealization 
the  atmosphere  of  mathematics.  A  theo- 
logian must  be  a  lover;  and  the  more 


churches,  pastors  and 


The  Search  for  Truth 


97 


theological  study  and  discussion  there  is, 
the  more  love  will  there  be  in  the  world. 
This  must  be  true,  if  God,  the  one  subject 
of  theology,  is  Love. 

To  say  this  is  to  condemn  much  "  the- 
ology "  as  dogma  and  many  "  theo- 
logians "  as  sectaries ;  yet  is  not  the  con- 
demnation necessary  and  just? 

But  let  us  not  involve  the  healthful  in 
our  avoidance  of  the  disease.  Dis- 
like of  doctrine,  the  shunning  of  theology, 
accompanies  always  the  decadence  of  a 
Church.  That  we  have  fallen  into  such 
an  attitude  bodes  ill  for  the  cause  of 
Christ. 

ompliance  is  easy :  "  Fall  in  with  the 
^  opinion  of  others ;  they  are  not  far 
wrong,  probably.  And  they  are  good 
fellows." 

Cynicism  is  easy :  "  What  is  truth ? 
Who  can  lay  hands  on  it  ?  The  here- 
tic of  to-day  is  the  persecuting  orthodox 
of  to-morrow." 

I  iberalism  is  easy :   "  Live  and  let  live. 

He  has  a  right  to  his  opinion,  and  I 
have  a  right  to  mine.  One  is  about  as 
good  as  another,  no  doubt." 

LJ  ow  contemptible  arc  such  expressions 
*  *  to  a  lover  of  truth — how  contempti- 
ble and  dangerous!  .  TTow  they  degrade 
man  and  God !  How  treasonable  are 
they  to  reason  and  revelation ! 


98 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


Opposing  views  are  never  a  matter  of 
indifference  to  a  lover  of  truth,  for 
one  is  false  or  both  are  partial ;  and 
falsehood  is  never  "  as  good  as  "  truth, 
nor  half  views  as  whole  views.  And 
truth  is  permanent.  What  is  true  to-day 
is  true  to-morrow,  and  forever.  And 
truth,  the  whole  truth,  is  discoverable. 

"Tphat  is  the  doctrine  of  the  truth-lover, 
*  a  doctrine  that  scorns  compliance  and 
liberalism  and  cynical  indifiference,  and 
with  more  than  knightly  ardor  seeks  its 
Holy  Grail. 

For  there  is  no  chivalry  so  fine  as  the 
love  of  truth.  Indeed,  all  chivalry 
is  based  upon  it  and  woven  with  it.  It 
is  courageous.  Is  truth  at  the  pole?  No 
icy  terrors  can  daunt  it.  Or  in  the  heart 
of  Mauna  Loa?  It  will  find  a  way 
thither.  It  is  companionable.  It  forgets 
itself  in  its  quest.  It  throws  its  arms 
around  a  brother,  and  they  are  one.  It 
trusts  all  men.    It  seeketh  not  its  own. 

"  A  n  open  mind!  How  rare  it  is!  A 
^  mind  whose  door  is  not  barred 
against  the  stranger,  and  its  windows 
closed  against  the  breezes  of  heaven.  A 
mind  to  which  all  pure  influences  have 
instant  access.  A  mind  ungrudgingly 
hosi)itable  to  truth,  to  all  truth.  Comes 
truth  in  any  guise,  as  a  beggar,  a  bandit, 
or  a  king,  it  is  detected  at  once,  and  wel- 
comed.   How  rare  is  such  a  mind! 


The  Search  for  Truth 


99 


But  we  may  all  have  it,  for  we  may  have 
the  mind  of  Christ.  If  He,  according 
to  His  promise,  dwells  in  us  and  we  in 
Him,  can  we  not,  without  wrangling,  dis- 
cuss theology,  the  lore  of  His  Father? 
Nay,  shall  we  turn  with  eager  longing  to 
any  theme  else?  And  as  in  the  spirit  of 
Christ  we  talk  together  of  the  great 
eternal  issues,  as  we  permit  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  guide  us  into  all  truth,  in  the 
sacred  search  we  shall  draw  close  to  one 
another,  and  fast  as  we  find  the  truth  we 
shall  find  the  fulfilment  of  our  Lord's 
prayer 


^bat  the^  all 
ma^  be 
one. 


XI 


"  Hush  !    Hush  !  " 

T'  HERE  are  many  that  say :  "  The 
.  real  foes  of  union  among  the 

K^^tg  churches  are  those  that  agitate 
*  '  the  subject.  They  keep  denomi- 
national differences  before  the  pubhc, 
and  make  it  impossible  for  the  churches 
to  forget  them.  It  is  like  the  constant 
shaking  of  a  broken  bone,  that  prevents 
its  knitting.  The  churches  are  doing 
well  enough.  If  they  will  only  keep 
quiet,  these  would-be  vmifiers,  all  will 
come  around  in  God's  good  time." 


hat  sounds  pious,  and  the  plea  has 


been  used  with  effect  against  all  re- 
forms since  the  world  began.  Rugged 
Jeremiah  heard  it  and  cried  with  scorn: 
"  They  have  healed  the  hurt  of  my  people 
lightly,  saying,  '  Peace,  peace,'  when 
there  is  no  peace." 

"  LJush !  hush!  Let  well  enough  alone." 

*1  That  is  always  the  plea  of  conserv- 
atism and  timidity. 

But  if  there  were  a  gaping  wound  in 
}our  friend's  body,  would  you  let  it 
alone?  Your  friend  might  be  a  strong 
man,  the  juices  of  health  flowing  freely; 
but  would  you  let  the  wound  alone  ?  No ; 


100 


"Hush!  Hush!" 


lOI 


you  would  wash  it  out,  close  it  up,  stitch 
it  firmly,  bandage  it,  dress  it  often  till 
it  was  healed.  And  if  you  would  do  that 
for  your  friend,  how  much  the  more  if 
the  Friend  is  Christ ! 

Or,  to  drop  the  unpleasant  but  just 
simile  and  pass  to  one  more  pleasing, 
if  two  of  your  friends  were  hostile  and 
would  not  speak  to  each  other,  could  you, 
loving  and  admiring  them  both,  knowing 
the  joy  of  friendship  with  each,  daily 
thrown  into  awkward  straits  by  their 
enmity,  could  you  avoid  learning  the 
cause  of  their  quarrel,  going  to  each, 
and  trying  to  bring  them  together  ?  And 
especially  if  you  saw  that  they  needed 
each  other,  that  they  were  weaker  for 
their  life's  work  without  each  other,  and 
that  the  quarrel  was  a  constant  grief  to 
them,  then,  loving  and  admiring  them 
both,  would  you  not  think  the  cry, 
"  Hush  !  hush  !  "  a  cry  treasonable  to  the 
sacred  name  of  friendship? 

And  even  if  the  cause  of  enmity  were 
ancient  and  almost  forgotten,  and 
your  two  friends  had  passed  from  active 
hostility  to  dull  tolerance,  and  might  go 
further  toward  each  other  in  the  course 
of  years,  and  after  you  were  dead,  could 
you  or  should  you  wait? 

It  is  precisely  thus  with  the  denomina- 
tions.    They  no  longer  contend  with 
one  another  openly.     Sometimes  they 
even  nod  to  one  another.    Perhaps  now 


I02 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


and  then  they  speak  to  one  another.  But 
they  know  nothing  of  the  long  intimacies 
of  friendship,  the  mutual  helpfulness  of 
friendship,  the  preference  of  one's  friend 
to  one's  self.  They  need  one  another. 
Each  has  some  element  the  others  lack. 
Unconsciously  they  grieve  for  one  an- 
other and  are  ill  at  ease.  For  the  want 
of  this  friendship  their  service  of  God 
falls  far  below  its  possibilities.  They 
need,  oh,  how  sadly  they  need,  first  to  be 
reconciled  to  one  another,  their  brothers, 
and  then  to  come  and  offer  their  gifts ! 

Can  one  who  loves  and  admires  all  the 
denominations  and  would  be  a  friend 
to  all,  under  these  conditions  hold  his 
peace?  Must  he  not  himself  be  ill  at 
ease,  continually  seeing  lost  possibilities 
of  friendship  ?  Must  he  not,  however 
uninfluential,  do  what  he  can  to  bring 
the  denominations  together,  reconcile  dif- 
ferences, remove  misunderstandings,  tell 
them  about  one  another,  and  try  to  in- 
spire in  each  for  the  others  the  same 
affection  that  he  feels  for  all? 

And  if  a  man,  circumscribed,  with  little 
insight,  with  imperfect  ideals  and 
still  more  clumsy  attainment,  yet  sees 
these  possibilities  of  Church  union,  how 
much  more  Christ !  How  tenderly,  stand- 
ing in  the  midst  of  His  light-givers  as 
John  saw  Him,  the  Son  of  Man  loves 
them  all !  How  He  knows  their  hearts, 
sees  in  them  the  same  love  for  Him,  the 


''Hush!  Hush! 


103 


same  heroic  readiness  to  serve  Him,  and 
longs  that  they  should  see  one  another 
as  He  understands  them  all !  And  how, 
seeing  the  array  of  coherent  evil,  tena- 
cious, massive,  and  aggressive,  our  Lord 
must  long  to  oppose  it  with  coherent 
good,  massed,  enthusiastic,  and  victori- 
ous ! 

If  He  speaks  this  longing,  it  must  be 
through  human  lips,  mine,  unworthy 
tho  they  are,  and  yours,  whoever  feel  the 
impulse  of  His  wish.  Shall  we  obey  those 
that  cry  "  Hush  !  hush  !  Let  well  enough 
alone !  Let  the  sects  take  their  time  in 
coming  together  "  ? 

And,  anyway,  even  were  these  impera- 
tive considerations  absent,  has  si- 
lence on  this  subject  allowed  the  denomi- 
nations to  grow  closer  together?  Does 
agitation  of  Church  union  emphasize  the 


11  Church  history  proves  the  contrary. 


^  Sectarianism  is  not,  like  pneumonia, 
a  disease  that  must  run  its  course  and 
come  to  a  climax  before  the  patient  re- 
covers— or  dies.  Rather  it  is  like  con- 
sumption, easily  cured  at  the  outset,  and 
becoming  more  inveterate  and  more  cer- 
tainly fatal  the  longer  it  is  tolerated. 

Was  it  keeping  still  and  saying 
"  Peace,  peace ;  let  well  enough 
alone,"  that  brought  about,  four  years 
ago,  that  blessed  union  of  the  Free 


evil  ? 


I04 


That  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


Church  of  Scotland  and  the  United  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  that  glorious  pro- 
cession of  reunited  brothers — 

"  The  noblest  scene  that  ever  eyes  did  greet, 
Altho  no  trumpets  blare  nor  banners  fiame, 
Gliding  along  the  stage  of  Prince's  Street; 

Heirs  of  Disruption  and  Secession  fame, 
Marching  in  concord,  joining  heart  and  hand. 
And  leaving  one  less  schism  in  the  land." 

Was  not  that  happy  marriage  of  the 
Churches  the  result  of  faithful  presenta- 
tion of  the  evils  of  disunion,  frank  and 
full  discussion,  prudent  yet  eager  con- 
ferences? Would  it  have  been  brought 
abotit  in  ten  thousand  centuries  by  com- 
placent acquiescence  in  sectarianism? 

r^oes  any  one  think  that  the  powerful 
Free  Chtirch  Federation  in  England, 
and  its  daughter  organization  in  this 
country,  tend  by  their  continual  insist- 
ence on  the  value  of  cooperation  to  drive 
the  denominations  farther  apart?  Is  that 
the  tendency  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  ? 
of  the  Pan-Presbyterian  assemblies?  of 
the  Ecumenical  Missionary  Conferences  ? 
of  Christian  Endeavor  conventions?  of 
the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  ?  of  the 
International  Sunday-school  movement  ? 
or  any  other  interdenominational  organi- 
zation ? 


tion  of  union  propositions  that  is 
so  profoundly  stirring  eleven  dif?erent 
denominations,  is  that  agitation  driving 


consider  the  present  agita- 


''Hash!  Hush!" 


105 


them  further  apart?  Is  it  not  rather  im- 
peUing  them  so  close  together  that  union 
in  some  cases  is  already  certain  and  in 
the  majority  of  cases  probable?  Is  the 
growing  desire  for  union,  the  increasing 
willingness  to  consider  plans  for  union, 
the  result  of  a  laissez-faire  policy  ?  Xo ! 
it  has  come  as  all  good  things  come,  as 
the  result  of  faithful,  persistent,  hopeful 
endeavor. 

It  is  not  a  negative  agitation  that  is  thus 
promoting  Church  union,  no  campaign 
of  criticism  and  reproach,  of  discour- 
aging raillery  and  condemnation.  It  has 
recognized  likenesses  rather  than  exhibit- 
ed differences.  It  has  applauded  prog- 
ress rather  than  bemoaned  stagnation 
and  retroaction.  It  has  shown  the  de- 
sirable rewards  of  Church  union  and 
made  men  long  for  it  as  Christ  does. 
In  all  this  it  has  but  imitated  Christ,  and 
so  it  has  succeeded  and  is  succeeding. 

Whose  duty  is  it  to  agitate  for  Church 
union,  to  stand  for  it  and  promote 

it? 

Surely  it  is  the  duty  of  all  that  love 
Christ,  and  feel  the  irresistible  ap- 
peal of  His  desire. 

Especially  is  it  the  duty  of  those  upon 
whom  Christ  has  placed  the  respon- 
sibility of  leadership  in  the  Church :  bish- 
ops, moderators,  superintendents,  elders, 
deacons,  secretaries  of  boards,  editors  of 


io6 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


religious  papers,  teachers  in  Sunday- 
schools,  leaders  of  prayer-meetings — 
above  all,  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel. 
If  it  is  the  desire,  as  assuredly  it  is  the 
desire,  of  our  Lord  that  all  His  Churches 
be  one,  and  if,  as  assuredly  is  the  case, 
they  are  now  very  far  from  being  one, 
it  is  the  duty  of  our  Church  leaders  to 
lead  the  Churches  into  obedience,  in  this 
as  in  all  other  particulars,  to  the  will  of 
Christ. 

But  if  you  are  in  no  post  of  authority, 
if  you  are  not  one  to  whom  the 
churches  justly  look  for  leadership,  yet 
recognition  of  Christ's  will  is  always  suf- 
ficient authority  for  you  to  lead  men 
toward  it.  Still,  even  as  in  Isaiah's  day, 
is  there  need  of  prophets.  Still  God's 
people  need  healing,  and  still  the  Lord 
cries,  "  Whom  shall  I  send,  and  who 
will  go  for  us?"  And  still  the  most 
heroic  accents  man  can  utter,  tho  from 
unclean  lips  and  with  a  slow  tongue,  are, 
"  Here  am  I ;  send  me."  Prophets  of 
union  !  Prophets  of  obedience  !  Proph- 
ets of  brotherhood !  God  send  us  an 
Isaiah  in  every  sect ! 

"  ITush!  hush!  Peace!  peace!  Let 
n  well  enough  alone,  ye  troublers  of 
Israel !  "  Prophets  of  union,  heed  no 
such  cry.  They  will  charge  disloyalty 
to  the  Church ;  but  you  know  a  loyalty 
of  which  they  do  not  dream.  They  will 
urge  postponement,  and  again  postpone- 


''Hush!  Hush!''  107 


mcnt ;  but  you  know  that  nineteen  hun- 
dred )'ears  has  been  postponement  sadly 
sufficient. 

Ah,  the  ignominy  of  seeing  a  great 
truth,  of  feehng  it  in  every  thrilHng 
sense,  of  bowing  before  it  and  owning 
allegiance  to  it,  and  yet  of  remaining 
silent !  If  a  man  would  dwarf  his  soul, 
and  lose  his  grasp  of  all  things  high, 
let  him  know  the  best,  and  speak  and 
live  the  second  best !  Ideals,  appre- 
hended in  awe  and  silence,  are  given  for 
proclamation ;  and  it  is  not  only  for  His 
disciples  in  the  upper  room,  "  but  for 
them  also  that  believe  on  me  through 
their  word,"  that  we  hear  our  Savior 
pray 


ZTbat  the)?  all 
map  be 
one. 


XII 


Churches  and  Men 


lENOMINATIONS  of  Christians 
should  be  as  good  as  Christians. 
The  same  laws  of  Christian  con- 
duct that  apply  to  individuals 
apply  to  groups  of  individuals,  however 
extensive.  Neglect  of  this  truth  is  large- 
ly responsible  for  sectarianism.  Con- 
viction of  it  and  application  of  it  would 
carry  us  far  toward  Church  union. 

Everywhere  and  in  all  matters  it  is  the 
tendency  to  hold  masses  of  men  to 
standards  different  from  those  we  apply 
to  individuals.  A  powerful  nation  bul- 
lies a  weaker  one  as  no  strong  man,  with- 
out disgrace,  could  bully  a  cripple ;  but 
the  nation  gets  credit  by  the  performance. 
Two  Christian  nations,  of  kindred  race, 
fight  each  other,  to  the  waste  of  enor- 
mous sums,  the  blotting  out  of  thousands 
of  lives,  the  maiming  of  thousands  more, 
the  darkening  of  thousands  of  homes. 
And  the  cause  for  which  they  fight? 
Such  as  the  laws  would  not  permit  two 
individual  citizens  to  fight  about,  but 
they  must  seek  the  peaceful  arbitrament 
of  courts. 

io8 


Churches  and  Men 


109 


Similarly,  corporations  are  allowed  to 
enrich  themselves  by  modes  that  in 
single  men  would  be  called  highway  rob- 
bery. Political  parties  are  allowed  to 
nullify  their  platform  promises  in  ways 
that  in  an  individual  voter  would  be 
called  lying.  The  ease  with  which  a 
person  may  be  called  to  account,  and 
the  vast  difficulty  of  calling  to  account 
a  corporation,  a  party,  or  a  nation,  have 
blinded  us  to  the  identity  of  ethics  in 
both  cases.  It  is  more  convenient  to  be- 
lieve that  these  unwieldy  masses  of  men 
have  their  own  righteousness,  and  are 
not  to  be  weighed  in  the  ordinary  scales 
of  justice.  Thus  when  mobs  commit 
murder,  and  nations  cheat  and  lie  and 
steal  and  brag,  we  forget  the  men  that 
are  doing  these  things,  and  attribute  them 
to  a  vague,  irresponsible  impersonality. 
Not  so  God. 

I  n  olden  times  men  held  similar  views 
i  regarding  nature.  Two  concentric 
spheres  upon  a  table  would  fall  together ; 
but  they  fancied  the  sky  a  dome  of  glass, 
in  which  the  stars  were  golden  studs, 
and  never  asked  what  held  it  up.  Other 
music  could  be  heard,  but  not  the  music 
of  the  spheres.  The  great  seas  were 
peopled  with  marvelous  creatures.  Only 
recently  have  we  come  to  judge  the  un- 
known from  the  known,  to  recognize  in 
Sirius  the  gravity  and  chemistry  of  our 
kitchens.  And  even  yet  we  fancy  for 
solar  systems  of  men  a  set  of  laws  Iran- 


no 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


scending  the  government  of  their  com- 
ponent clods. 

Nevertheless,  if  each  brick  in  a  kiln  is 
hot,  the  kiln  is  baking ;  if  each  atom 
in  the  iron  is  electrified,  the  iron  is  elec- 
trified, the  iron  is  magnetic ;  if  each  drop 
in  the  glass  contains  strychnine,  the 
water  is  poison ;  and,  in  spite  of  our  fool- 
ish thinking,  a  band  of  men  is  bad  or 
good  as  each  man  is  bad  or  good.  Asso- 
ciation excuses  no  sin. 

If  Christ  were  to  dictate  letters  to-day 
to  the  Churches,  would  He  write  other- 
wise than  to  the  seven  of  Asia?  Would 
He  not  test  them  just  as  He  would  test 
John  or  Paul  or  Timothy?  "  Thou  hast 
not  grown  weary."  "  Thou  didst  leave 
thy  first  love."  "  Thou  boldest  fast  my 
name."  "  Thou  art  lukewarm."  "  Thou 
hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  thou  art 
dead."  "  Thou  sayest,  I  am  rich,  and 
have  need  of  nothing."  "  Be  zealous, 
and  repent."  "  He  that  overcometh,  I 
will  give  to  him  to  sit  down  with  me  in 
my  throne."  Is  not  this  as  Christ  would 
deal  with  persons?  There  is  no  hint,  in 
Scripture  or  reason,  that  denominations 
are  to  be  judged  otherwise. 


Let  us  apply  some  of  the  fundamental 
laws  of  Christ  to  the  Christian  sects 
as  we  know  them. 


Churches  and  Men 


III 


Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens," 
wrote  Paul,  "  and  so  fulfil  the  law 
of  Christ."  To  be  sure,  he  soon  added, 
"  Each  man  shall  bear  his  own  burden," 
shall  do  for  himself  all  that  he  can ; 
but  Christ  knows  how  much  there  is  that 
no  man  can  do  for  himself,  bear  he  up 
never  so  stoutly,  and  all  through  the  ages 
Christ's  followers  have  understood  and 
measurably  practised  the  law  of  mutual 
helpfulness. 

It  would  seem  to  be  the  simplest  logic 
i  in  the  world  to  extend  this  law  to 
bodies  of  Christians  in  their  relations  to 
one  another ;  yet  whenever,  in  conversing 
even  with  the  most  self-denying  Chris- 
tians, I  have  suggested  that  the  denomi- 
nations should  "  bear  one  another's  bur- 
dens and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ,"  I 
have  been  stared  at  as  a  madman. 

Nevertheless,  mad  or  not,  I  believe  that 
some  glad  day,  when  the  Baptist 
foreign  missionary  society  faces  a  deficit, 
the  Methodists  will  take  special  collec- 
tions in  all  their  churches  to  make  that 
deficit  good.  When  the  Presbyterians 
hear  of  a  Methodist  home  mission  school 
out  in  Idaho  that  is  likely  to  be  aban- 
doned for  lack  uf  funds,  they  will  make 
an  approi>riation  for  it.  When  the  Epis- 
copalians learn  that  the  denominational 
newspaper  of  the  Quakers  is  inadequate- 
ly supported,  they  will  get  up  clubs  for 
it.    When  the  Baptists  see  that  a  Con- 


112  That  They  All  May  Be  One 


gregational  college  needs  an  endowment, 
they  will  furnish  it.  When  statistics 
show  a  falling  of?  in  additions  to  Pres- 
byterian churches,  the  Disciples  will  in- 
stitute a  canvass  on  their  behalf. 

Is  not  that  the  way  individual  Christians 
bear  one  another's  burdens — ^by  gifts 
of  money,  and  time,  and  sympathetic  co- 
operation, "  edifying "  one  another, 
building  one  another  up?  Will  any  one 
show  in  what  other  ways  denominations 
could  bear  one  another's  burdens? 

No  one  that  has  entered  into  the  spirit 
of  Christianity  can  doubt  that  such 
deeds  would  cause  the  heart  of  our  Re- 
deemer to  leap  for  joy. 

The  denomination  that  will  first  raise 
money  to  relieve  from  debt  the  mis- 
sion board  of  another  denomination  will 
introduce  an  era  in  the  world's  history 
second  only  to  the  introduction  of 
Christianity. 

Another  law  of  our  blessed  religion  is 
the  law  of  humility.  How,  by  ex- 
ample and  precept,  this  fundamental  vir- 
tue is  insisted  on !  "  Many  that  are  first 
shall  be  last,  and  the  last  first."  "  He 
that  findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  he  that 
loseth  his  life  shall  find  it."  "  Seekest 
thou  great  things  for  thyself?  Seek 
them  not."  "  I  say  to  every  man  not 
to  think  of  himself  more  highly  than  he 


Churches  and  Men 


ought  to  think."  "  Love  envieth  not ; 
love  vaunteth  not  itself,  is  not  puffed  up, 
seeketh  not  its  own."  "  Be  tenderly  af- 
fectioned  one  to  another ;  in  honor  pre- 
ferring one  another."  "  Fulfil  ye  my  joy, 
that  ye  be  of  the  same  mind,  having  the 
same  love,  being  of  one  accord,  of  one 
mind;  doing  nothing  through  faction  or 
through  vainglory,  but  in  lowliness  of 
mind,  each  counting  other  better  than 
himself ;  not  looking  each  of  you  to  his 
ozvn  things,  but  each  of  you  also  to  the 
things  of  others.  HAVE  THIS  MIND 
IN  YOU,  WHICH  WAS  ALSO  IN 
CHRIST  JESUS." 

Every  precept  in  that  familiar  list  rests 
as  solemnly  upon  denominations  of 
Christians  as  upon  individual  Christians. 
What  is  selfishness  in  one  docs  not  be- 
come proper  prudence  in  a  million.  What 
is  boastfulness  in  one  does  not  become 
just  enthusiasm  in  a  million.  What  is 
unholy  ambition  in  one  does  not  become 
holy  enterprise  in  a  million.  What  is 
self-absorption  in  one  docs  not  become 
devotion  to  God  in  a  million.  The  spirit 
of  a  denomination  is  to  be  approved  or 
condemned  by  the  same  tests  that  try 
the  spirit  of  a  man. 

How  do  the  denominations  stand  this 
test  of  humility?  Do  they  seek  to 
be  last,  or  to  be  first?  Do  they  attempt 
to  lose  their  lives  in  lowly  service,  or  to 
find  them  in  conspicuous  success?  Do 


114  Thai  They  All  May  Be  One 


they  seek  great  things  for  one  another, 
or  for  themselves?  Do  they  think  of 
themselves  more  highly  than  others  think 
of  them,  or  less  highly?  Do  they  envy 
one  another's  achievements,  or  exult  in 
them  ?  Do  they  boast  of  their  own  sta- 
tistics, or  of  the  statistics  of  other  de- 
nominations that  excel  their  own?  Do 
they  refuse  to  look  on  their  own  suc- 
cesses, and  dwell  delightedly  on  the  ac- 
complishments of  other  denominations, 
in  sincere  lowliness  of  mind  preferring 
one  another,  each  counting  other  better 
than  itself?  Have  the  denominations 
this  mind  in  them,  which  was  also  in 
Christ  Jesus? 

r\h.  brothers,  brothers!    How  can  we 


cultivate,  in  others  and  ourselves, 
tliis  priceless  virtue  of  humility,  while 
press  and  pulpit  and  the  conversation 
of  Christians  so  often  exhibit  denomina- 
tional braggadocio?  "We  raise  more 
money  for  missions  than  any  other  de- 
nomination." "  We  had  more  accessions 
last  year  than  any  other  denomination." 
"  Our  denomination  is  the  biggest." 
"  Ours  is  the  most  intelligent."  "  We 
are  having  revivals  and  the  others 
aren't."  "  We  have  the  best  hymn-book." 
"  Ours  are  the  best  papers."  "  Our 
church  polity  is  the  winner."  "  We  sent 
out  more  missionaries  last  year  than  any 
other  denomination."  "  We  have  the 
most  Sunday-schools."  "  ^^'cll,  ours  are 
the  best,  any  way."   "  We  made  the  big- 


Churches  and  Men 


"5 


gest  gains  last  year."  But  we  made  the 
biggest  gains  the  last  decade."  How  like 
the  talk  of  disagreeable  children !  How 
utterly  unworthy  the  followers  of  the 
meek  and  lowly  Savior ! 

"  Dut  if  our  denomination  is  the  best, 
A-*  why  not  say  so,  and  persuade  every 
one  else  to  join  it  ? 

Because  no  one  is  persuaded  in  that 
way.  And  especially  because  your 
denomination  is  not  the  best,  nor  is  any 
denomination  the  best,  but  each  is  best  in 
some  few  particulars.  It  becomes  Chris- 
tians, singly  or  as  churches,  to  recognize 
and  praise  the  best  in  others,  and  mod- 
estly to  leave  it  to  others  to  recognize 
and  praise  the  best  in  themselves. 

"  D  ut  how,  if  we  do  not  talk  about  our 
D  denominational  superiorities,  can 
we  cultivate  denominational  loyalty?" 


oiv  did  Christ?  "And  I,    /  he  lifted 


^'P  ffoni  the  earth,  will  draw  all 
men  unto  myself.  But  this  He  said, 
signifying  by  what  manner  of  death 
He  should  die." 


;/  hoc  signo  vincimus.  It  is  the  cross, 


the  cro.ss,  that  makes  conquest  of  the 
world.  Would  a  Christian  denomination 
draw  all  men  to  itself?  Like  its  Lord, 
let  it  be  raised  upon  a  cross.  In  lowly 
self-abnegation  let  it  give  itself  for  sin- 
ful men. 


ii6  That  They  All  May  Be  One 


here  is  no  attraction  like  the  attrac- 


*■  tion  of  service,  no  popularity  like  the 
popularity  of  ministers. 

The  first  denomination  that  gains  the 
lovely  spirit  of  humility,  that  actually 
strives  to  be  least  of  all  and  the  servant 
of  all,  that  makes  no  brag  nor  receives 
honor  from  men,  that  really  prefers  oth- 
ers to  itself,  studies  their  excellencies 
and  forgets  its  own,  and  does  all  this, 
not  in  order  that,  being  last,  it  may  be- 
come first,  but  because  it  has  won  the 
character  of  the  Nazarine — that  denomi- 
nation will  gain  everlasting  glory  in  the 
annals  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

And  so,  not  to  insist  further,  must  it 
be  with  all  other  principles  that  are 
binding  on  Christian  men ;  their  obliga- 
tion binds  also  the  Christian  denomina- 
tions. Must  a  man  avoid  the  spirit  of 
suspicion,  hope  all  things  of  others,  be- 
lieve all  things  of  others?  So  must  the 
denominations  cease  to  suspect  one  an- 
other, and  begin  to  hope  and  believe  all 
good  of  one  another.  Must  a  man  be 
not  easily  provoked,  when  smitten  on  one 
cheek  must  he  turn  the  other?  So  must 
denominations  be  long  suffering,  and  not 
quick  to  resent  injuries.  Must  a  man, 
when  he  has  done  wrong,  repent,  and 
bring  forth  the  fruits  of  repentance? 
Even  so  a  denomination.  Let  us  read 
our  New  Testaments  not  only  by  our- 


Churches  and  Men 


117 


selves  but  by  denominations,  standing 
between  Ebal  and  Gerizim ! 

And  as  with  this  wider  consciousness 
upon  us  we  come  to  study  Christ's 
teachings  and  apply  them  in  the  wider 
sphere  as  in  the  narrower,  in  the  one 
as  in  the  other  they  will  destroy  selfish- 
ness which  is  the  basis  of  schism,  and 
Christ's  own  words  will  bring  to  pass 
His  prayer, 


ZTbat  tbe^  all 
ma^  be 
one. 


XIII 


Union  Prayer-Meetings 

T"  HE  weekly  meeting  of  Christians 
for  prayer  and  conference !  Is 
it  not  inevitable,  if  we  would 
•  '  succeed  in  our  Father's  busi- 
ness ?  What  secular  business  could  pro- 
gress without  similar  meetings  for  mu- 
tual inspiration  and  counsel?  Must  not 
even  the  savage  tribe  have  its  council 
fire? 

And  yet  in  many  a  town  and  church, 
and  even  in  an  entire  denomination, 
they  are  talking  of  the  failure  of  the 
prayer-meeting,  and  are  planning  to  give 
it  up,  or  have  already  abandoned  it. 

'"Phere  is  a  room  dismally  large  for  the 
*  dispirited  little  company  that  have 
gathered.  There  is  a  discouraged  pas- 
tor, doggedly  setting  about  a  forlorn 
task.  There  is  a  number  of  women,  but 
they  seldom  or  never  add  to  the  meeting 
save  by  their  silent  presence.  There  are 
a  few  men,  desperately  groping  in  their 
minds  for  a  thouglit  or  expression  that 
constant  use  through  years  of  long  fidel- 
ity has  not  worn  threadbare.  There  are 
some  young  people,  abashed  by  the 
gloom  and  awkwardness.  There  is  a 
quavering  thread  of  song. 

Il8 


Union  Prayer- Meetings 


119 


It  is  the  same  faithful  few,  year  after 
year.  It  is  the  same  half  hour  of 
minister,  and  quarter  hour  of  feeble 
song,  and  quarter  hour  of  "  participa- 
tion." 

Rare,  indeed,  is  a  strange  face,  the 
thrill  of  a  new  voice.  Still  more 
rare  is  the  feeling  of  eagerness,  the  note 
of  reality,  the  communication  of  life, 
prayer  that  must  be  prayed,  testimony 
that  must  be  given — glad,  grateful,  im- 
pulsive, victorious. 

Usually  this  meeting,  that  should  be 
for  all  Christians  a  reservoir  of 
power,  has  to  be  "  kept  up."  It  should 
be  an  unfailing  treasury  of  inspiration, 
guidance,  and  cheer ;  but  it  is  a  depress- 
ing failure,  or  as  near  to  it  as  anything 
connected  with  the  Church  of  Christ  can 
be.  No  wonder  that  in  many  places  it 
is  dropped  or  its  character  changed  to  a 
lecture. 

I  know  that  to  many  of  my  readers  this 
*  description  will  seem  like  a  caricature, 
almost  impious,  and  wholly  untrue.  The 
prayer-meetings  in  their  church  are 
warm,  glowing,  and  vital,  all,  or  nearly 
all,  that  such  meetings  should  be.  But 
no  one  with  a  wide  outlook  over  the 
churches,  and  especially  no  one  familiar 
with  the  average  conditions  in  villages 
and  in  the  country,  but  will  recognize 
the  picture  I  have  drawn  as  sadly  true 
in  the  majority  of  cases. 


I20  That  They  AU  May  Be  One 


There  are  many  causes  of  this  prayer- 
meeting  faikire  where  it  exists. 
One  of  them,  for  instance,  is  the  neglect 
to  utiHze  the  young  people  trained  in 
their  own  prayer-meetings,  providing  an 
atmosphere  of  brightness,  warmth,  and 
invitation,  providing  a  place  for  them, 
and  systematically  pushing  them  into 
that  place  till  they  are  wonted  to  it. 

But  in  most  cases  I  think  that  the  fun- 
damental cause  of  prayer-meeting 
failure  is  the  isolation  of  sects.  In  the 
country  and  the  village,  in  the  suburbs 
and  new  sections  of  cities  and  the  "down- 
town "  districts,  often  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  residence  sections,  no  single  church 
has  enough  material  for  a  good,  well- 
sustained,  easily  running  prayer-meeting. 

nphe  natural  or  acquired  ability  to  pray 


^  in  public — I  do  not  say  eloquently, 
but  vitally,  in  such  wise  as  to  carry 
other  hearts  with  the  prayer — is  not  com- 
mon. I  believe  in  brief  prayers,  in  the 
"  sentence  prayers  "  of  young  people's 
societies ;  I  would  have  scores  of  them 
in  every  meeting,  till,  perhaps,  every 
person  present  has  added  his  portion  to 
the  tidal  wave  of  praise  and  petition; 
such  prayers  are  heard  of  God  as  gladly 
as  the  longer  ones,  and  in  their  swift 
aggregate  move  profoundly  the  hearts  of 
all  hearers ;  and  I  believe  that  every 
Christian  can  and  should  contribute  thus 


Union  Prayer-Meetings 


121 


to  the  prayer-meeting.  But,  neverthe- 
less, the  ability  to  "  lead  in  prayer,"  to 
inspire  and  direct  the  prayers  of  others 
with  many  words  or  few,  is  not  common. 
To  make  a  "  prayer-meeting  "  a  meeting 
of  prayer,  there  are  needed  as  many  such 
prayer  leaders  as  are  likely  to  be  found  in 
several  churches. 

The  other  half  of  the  prayer-meeting 
ideal  is  expressed  in  the  old  terms, 
"  conference  meeting  "  and  "  experience 
meeting."  It  is  an  assembly  in  which 
Christians  will  tell  how  Christ  has  led 
them,  and  will  "  edify "  one  another, 
build  one  another  up  in  the  Christian 
life. 

Here,  also,  tho  followers — or  at  least 
possible  followers — are  many,  the 
leaders  are  few.  Every  sincere  Chris- 
tian has  "  experiences  "  enough  every 
week  to  furnish  an  entire  experience 
meeting,  just  as  each  life  contains  ma- 
terial for  a  great  novel.  But  not  every 
man  is  a  Hawthorne,  nor  have  many 
Christians  the  ability  to  recognize  their 
experiences,  analyze  their  battles,  per- 
ceive their  foes,  discern  their  crises,  or 
describe  to  others  in  any  helpful  or  even 
intelligible  fashion  the  scenes  of  their 
inner  life.  Such  a  man  must  be  some- 
what of  a  poet  and  much  of  a  prophet ; 
but  poets  and  prophets  do  not  grow  on 
every  bush. 


122  That  They  AU  May  Be  One 


I am  in  danger  of  being  misunderstood, 
as  if  I  required  for  a  profitable  prayer- 
meeting  an  Isaiah  or  Jeremiah,  a  Spur- 
geon  or  PhilHps  Brooks.  There  is  an 
old  sea-captain  down  on  Cape  Cod,  un- 
lettered and  humble,  who  would  be  the 
making  of  any  prayer-meeting  in  Bos- 
ton. A  little  Sunday-school  teacher  of 
my  boyhood  days,  a  quiet,  modest  mite 
of  a  woman — now  in  heaven,  to  earth's 
great  loss — spoke  timidly  and  softly,  but 
vitalized  every  meeting  where  she  was. 
Such  persons,  tho  they  may  stammer 
and  use  poor  English  and  be  afraid,  yet 
have  the  gift  of  prophesying;  and  we 
have  Paul's  own  statement  that  not  all 
are  prophets.  Indeed,  I  am  confident 
that  if  the  prophetic  souls,  the  God-gifted 
religious  teachers,  were  gathered  up  from 
all  the  churches  of  an  average  town,  we 
should  have  no  more  than  enough  to 
carry  one  prayer-meeting  with  the 
swing  of  power. 

Here  again  I  must  say  that  I  would 
have  all  take  part  in  this  "  testify- 
ing," as  in  prayer.  The  young  people's 
societies  show  how  it  is  possible.  Those 
societies  do  a  great  work  in  discovering 
and  training  the  leaders,  the  prophets ; 
but  they  also  train  the  followers.  Some 
are  not  original,  but  they  find  some  print- 
ed word,  in  sacred  literature  or  secular, 
and  make  it  expressive  of  their  purpose 
and  desire.  They  read  some  hymn,  with 
a  word  about  the  author.    They  write  a 


Union  Prayer-Meetings 


123 


few  thoughts  upon  a  Bible  verse.  The 
rapid  massing  of  their  Scripture  upon  a 
theme  is  powerfully  effective.  Their 
focussing  of  many  wise  quotations  is 
splendidly  illuminating.  The  most  in- 
spiring part  of  many  a  young  people's 
prayer-meeting  is  this,  and  not  the  origi- 
nal part.  We  must  give  all  a  share  in 
our  older  gatherings  also.  But  this,  too, 
like  the  prayers,  depends  upon  the  lead- 
ers, and  they  are  few.  We  need  to  sum- 
mon them  from  all  the  churches.  We 
need  union  prayer-meetings. 

We  need  them  also  for  the  mighty 
inspiration  of  numbers.  Too  long 
have  we  pleaded  Christ's  promise  that 
where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together 
in  His  name.  He  is  in  their  midst.  If  the 
two  or  three  ought  to  be  two  or  three 
hundred,  it  is  questionable  whetiier  the 
promise  holds. 


"  '  disciples  were  few.  It  was  "  the 
church  in  the  house"  of  Phoebe,  or  Ter- 
tius,  or  Cornelius.  They  were  perse- 
cuted, and  large  gatherings  were  unsafe, 
impossible.  For  them  the  promise  to  the 
"  two  or  three  "  was  needful  and  pre- 
cious, as  it  occasionally  is  to  us. 

Out  where  it  is  not  needful,  is  it  pre- 
cious  or  operative?  Where  attend- 
ance on  Christian  assemblies  is  not  only 
safe  but  honored?  Where  Christians 
have  the  majority  and  the  power  ?  Where 


promise  was  given,  the 


124 


Thai  They  All  May  Be  One 


the  need  of  the  world,  the  abiHty  of  the 
church,  and  all  comforts,  conveniences, 
and  opportunities  call  for  crowded,  en- 
thusiastic gatherings?  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances to  plead  that  ancient  promise 
to  "  two  or  three  "  is  pusillanimous. 

When  Lafayette  crossed  the  Atlantic 
to  aid  the  struggling  patriots  of 
our  Revolution,  he  was  content  to  be 
met  by  two  or  three ;  but  when,  years 
afterward,  he  returned  to  see  the  pow- 
erful and  prosperous  nation  that  he  had 
helped  to  establish,  he  expected  to  be 
welcomed  by  great  throngs,  and  he  was. 
What  would  he  have  said  of  American 
gratitude  if  he  had  been  greeted  only  by 
the  primitive  "  two  or  three  "  ? 

\  A/e  need  union  prayer-meetings  for 


'  '  the  comparison  of  views.  What  is 
the  worth  of  a  council  to  which  only 
those  of  one  way  of  thinking  are  in- 
vited ? 

Does  any  one  seriously  fear  doctrinal 
disputes?  The  larger  the  meeting 
and  the  more  impressive,  the  less  are 
they  likely  to  occur. 

Think  what  it  means  if  two  Christian 
churches  can  not  pray  better  and 
counsel  better  together  than  apart !  The 
early  disciples  had  differences  of  opinion 
and  of  taste  quite  as  marked  as  those  of 
our  day.     Peter,  John,  Thomas — are 


Union  Prayer- Meetings 


125 


three  men  likely  to  be  more  dissimilar? 
And  doubtless  each  could  have  gathered 
out  of  five  hundred  disciples  many  men 
closely  akin  to  himself.  But  what  if, 
after  the  ascension,  Peter  had  summoned 
the  men  of  his  sort  to  hold  a  prayer- 
meeting  with  him,  and  John  had  called 
together  his  kind  of  men,  and  Thomas 
his?  Does  any  one  believe  that  such  a 
church  would  have  received  the  Holy 
Ghost? 

But  no;  they  were  all  together,  with 
one  accord,  in  one  place.    And  then 
came  Pentecost. 

\A/^  need  the  comparison  of  diver- 


^  "  gences  to  get  at  the  truth  ;  we  need 
the  gentle  attrition  of  opposites  to  smooth 
angularities ;  we  need  the  enthusiasm  of 
one  set  of  men,  the  caution  of  another, 
the  aggressiveness  of  a  third,  the  peace- 
fulness  of  a  fourth.  We  can  not  afford 
to  let  similar  men  isolate  themselves ; 
that  is  bad  for  them  and  for  us. 

Investigators  have  just  discovered  why 
*■  it  is  that  orchards  so  often  and  so 
mysteriously  fail  to  bear  fruit;  it  is  be- 
cause a  variety  of  kinds  is  seldom  placed 
together.  One  kind  of  cherry-tree  has 
been  found  to  need  the  pollen  of  an- 
other kind  to  fructify  it.  If  they  are 
planted  together,  there  is  a  sure  and 
abundant  crop.  If  they  are  widely  sepa- 
rated, only  the  accident  of  favorable 
winds  will  result  in  fruitage.    The  dis- 


126 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


covery  will  immediately  diversify  our 
orchards  and  add  enormously  to  the 
wealth  of  the  world.  Let  us  apply  it  at 
once  to  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit. 

And  not  only  for  mental  and  spiritual 
stimulus  and  growth  do  we  need 
union  prayer-meetings,  but  for  the  ex- 
teriors of  the  meetings,  and  especially 
for  the  singing.  How  the  prayer-meeting 
would  shine  and  attract  if  it  could  draw 
upon  the  assembled  abilities  of  a  whole 
Christian  community !  The  most  inspir- 
ing leaders,  and  all  the  time,  without 
being  burdensome  to  any  leader.  The 
best  singers,  for  solos  and  choruses.  The 
best  Bible  students,  to  bring  forth  the 
treasures  of  the  Word.  The  best  speak- 
ers, to  uplift  and  instruct.  Those  best 
informed  on  the  missions  of  many 
churches,  and  on  the  great  reforms. 
Those  most  gifted  in  the  sacred  art  of 
public  prayer.  Those  who,  tho  not  lead- 
ers, are  swift  to  follow,  and  to  carry 
their  comrades  with  them.  A  galaxy  of 
skill  and  power  and  experience  and  wis- 
dom, all  shining  in  the  prayer-meeting! 
Is  there  any  doubt  that  this  would  solve 
in  all  communities  the  problem  of  the 
prayer-meeting,  transforming  a  perplex- 
ity and  chagrin  into  a  joy  and  a  failure 
into  a  triumph? 

As  to  the  subjects  of  union  prayer- 
meetings,  they  will  be  the  great 
themes   of  our  common  Christianity. 


* 


Union  Prayer-Meetings 


127 


Few  prayer-meetings,  even  in  the  most 
sectarian  churches,  deal  with  doctrinal 
differences.  If  at  any  time  the  advocates 
of  a  peculiar  doctrine  or  practise  wished 
to  confer  about  it,  nothing  would  hinder 
their  doing  so. 

Out  the  great  themes  that  have  given 
^  rise  to  great  differences,  such  a  theme 
as  baptism? 

D  rothers !  here  is  a  sacred  rite  estab- 
^  lished  by  our  revered  Savior,  conse- 
crated by  His  example  and  enforced  by 
His  command ;  and  shall  we  doubt  that 
His  acknowledged  followers  could  come 
together,  in  His  presence,  and  discuss  it 
peacefully  ?  How  meanly  would  we  think 
of  Christians,  and  how  slightly  would 
we  trust  the  unifying  Spirit,  ready  to 
guide  seekers  into  all  truth !  I  believe 
that  union  prayer-meetings,  convened  to 
talk  and  pray  about  the  great  debated 
doctrines  and  practises  of  the  Church, 
would  speedily  reunite  the  sundered 
members  of  our  Lord's  body. 

Does  any  one  object  that  such  meet- 
ings would  be  too  large,  that  the 
throngs  would  hinder  free  discussion  and 
prevent  the  participation  of  the  timid? 


hat  would  indeed  be  a  novel  com- 


*■  plaint,  and  the  churches  might  glad- 
ly suffer  it  for  some  time !  We  need  not 
meet  the  blessed  emergency  till  it  arises : 
but  if  the  mass  prayer-meeting  ever  be- 


128  Thai  They  All  May  Be  One 


comes  unwieldy,  it  may  be  broken  into 
groups,  neighborhood  gatherings,  cot- 
tage prayer-meetings,  always,  however, 
reassembling  often  for  the  inspiration  of 
the  host, 

"Out  what  if  our  prayer-meetings  are 
D  already   successful  ? "   some  one 
asks. 

Then,  all  the  more,  you  are  your  broth- 
er's keeper.  Are  the  prayer-meet- 
ings of  the  other  churches  successful? 
If  you  do  not  need  their  help,  do  not 
they  need  yours?  But  you  do  need  their 
help.  Not  the  most  successful  prayer- 
meeting  in  the  world  is  as  successful  as 
it  would  be  if  united  with  some  dis- 
couraged and  unsuccessful  meeting. 

"  Dut  we  held  a  union  prayer-meeting 
D  once,  and  it  was  a  dismal  failure. 
Each  church  relied  on  the  other  to  fill 
the  seats,  and  those  that  came  were 
awkward  and  constrained." 

M}-  wagon  tire  was  broken,  and  the 
blacksmith  laid  the  parted  ends 
upon  cold  charcoal.  Then  he  gave  them 
one  blow  with  his  hammer.  "  Fie ! "'  he 
said  in  disgust,  "  that  tire  can  not  be 
mended." 

No   sporadic   trial   will   make  union 
meetings    a    success.      It  needs 
time  to  grow  wonted  to  the  novel  form, 


Union  Prayer- Meetings 


129 


time  to  become  acquainted  with  one  an- 
other. It  needs  faith  in  the  endeavor, 
loyalty  to  it,  an  eager  desire  for  its 
success. 

'"phe  world  has  not  forgot  the  union 


Crusade  for  the  overthrow  of  the  saloon, 
the  most  pathetic  and  eloquent  event  of 
modern  times.  The  world  will  not  for- 
get the  union  prayer-meetings  in  Aus- 
tralia that  preceded  the  recent  Pentecost 
of  the  Island  Continent.  There  was  a 
meeting  together  veritably  in  His  name, 
in  His  spirit;  and  verily  He  was  in  the 
midst. 

Would  it  not  please  Christ  if  next 
Wednesday  evening  that  meager 
Methodist  handful  of  praying  disciples 
should  say,  "  Two  blocks  distant,  in  the 
Presbyterian  church,  is  another  discour- 
aged little  company.  Let  us  carry  our 
one  coal  to  their  one  coal,  that  the  two 
may  make  a  blaze."  And  if  on  the  way 
they  should  meet  the  dozen  or  two  from 
the  Baptist  church,  coming  around  the 
corner  on  the  same  errand.  And  if,  ar- 
riving at  the  Presbyterian  church,  the 
two  bodies  should  find  their  Calvinist 
brethren  sallying  forth  to  meet  them. 
Would  they  not  all,  like  Paul  at  the 
market  of  .A.ppius,  thank  God  and  take 
courage?  And  would  not  Christ  be  hap- 
py in  the  midst  of  them? 


of   the  Woman's 


I30  That  They  All  May  Be  One 


Oh,  lovers  of  the  Lord!  you  whose 
whole  hearts  go  out  in  longing  to 
do  something  for  Him,  in  return  for  His 
priceless  love  and  sacrifice,  this  is  one 
thing  to  do,  so  easy,  so  blessed,  so  grate- 
ful to  Him  !  Shall  we  not  bring  it  about, 
in  glad  allegiance  to  His  will,  in  ready 
acknowledgment  of  His  wisdom,  in  late 
but  joyous  response  to  His  prayer, 


ZTbat  tbe^  all 
map  be 
one. 


XIV 


Union  Bible  Schools 


XE  of  the  most  patent  paradoxes 
of  sectarianism  is  this,  that,  tho 
each  sect  is  sure  it  is  founded 
upon  the  Bible,  the  whole  Bible, 


and  nothing  but  the  Bible,  the  sects  can 
not  meet  together  to  study  this  one  Book. 

Where  a  community  should  have  a 
single  strong,  enthusiastic  Bible 
school,  you  will  find  four  or  five  dismal 
nonentities.  In  each,  the  weekly  prob- 
lem is,  Where  to  find  teachers?  and 
the  annual  problem.  Where  to  find  a 
superintendent?  In  each,  the  numbers 
are  small,  and  chiefly  children.  The 
singing  is  lifeless.  The  finances  are  at 
low  ebb.  There  is  no  teachers'  meeting. 
There  is  no  suitable  schoolroom  or  sets 
of  rooms.  The  library  is  inadequate. 
The  general  note  is  discouragement. 

Again  I  shall  meet  with  the  astonished 
and  indignant  denial  of  those  that 
know  their  own  vigorous,  crowded 
Bible  school,  and  do  not  know  the  aver- 
age conditions  of  our  over-churched 
communities ;  but  no  one  will  need  to 
look  far  from  home  to  find  my  picture 
true. 


131 


132 


That  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


The  remedy,  and  the  only  remedy,  is 
the  heahng  of  the  divisions  in  the 
body  of  Christ,  so  that  all  Christians  can 
meet  as  brothers  to  study  this  message 
of  their  common  Father. 

One  of  the  chief  gains  would  be  in 
the  matter  of  teachers.  A  teacher 
is  born  and  not  made,  and  good  teachers 
are  nearly  as  rare  as  good  poets.  Cer- 
tainly a  village  does  not  usually  contain 
more  than  enough  to  suppl}-  a  single 
school. 

"  I  have  tried  to  teach,  but  it  isn't  in 
i  me."  is  a  common  and  true  confes- 
sion. Have  you  ever  climbed  a  moun- 
tain with  a  friend  that  knew  the  way 
scarcely  better  than  yourself?  What 
slow  work  it  is !  What  anxious  search 
for  landmarks  !  What  dogged  plodding ! 
What  uncertainty  and  half-distrust! 
You  do  not  dare  make  detours.  You  do 
not  know  how  to  avoid  the  swampy 
spots.  You  take  long  ways  instead  of 
short  cuts.  You  miss  the  springs.  You 
miss  the  viewpoints.  You  reach  the 
summit,  if  you  reach  it  at  all,  with  time 
for  only  a  hasty  glance  around  the  ho- 
rizon before  the  descending  sun  warns 
you  to  begin  the  downward  course.  Ah, 
it  is  stupid  work,  climbing  a  mountain 
with  an  amateur! 

But  with  a  professional  guide  it  is 
quite  a  different  matter !   How  confi- 
dently he  strides  ahead,  with  that  space- 


Union  Bible  Schools 


133 


devouring,  slow  swing  of  his,  all  your 
luggage  resting  lightly  on  his  broad 
back !  He  prepares  a  highway  before 
)'OU,  here  slashing  off  with  his  hatchet 
a  projecting  limb,  now  giving  you  a  push 
up  a  steep  rock,  and  now  leading  yon 
comfortably  around  a  sharp-toothed 
thicket.  You  stretch  yourselves  content 
by  the  springs.  Through  surprising  vis- 
tas of  green  he  points  out  the  distant 
peaks.  He  takes  you  aside  to  promon- 
tories from  which  great  valleys  yawn  into 
sudden  view.  Long  before  noon  you 
stand  victorious  on  the  mountain  top, 
with  two  full  hours,  if  you  choose,  in 
which  to  enjoy  your  triumph.  That  is 
climbing  with  a  guide. 

Now  Bible  study  is  an  ascending  of 
great  peaks,  range  after  range  of 
them.  It  is  muddled  work  indeed  unless 
the  guide  knows  his  business. 

Bible  schools,  without  home  study  and 
with  only  a  poor  half-hour  a  week 
for  teaching,  present  problems  compared 
with  which  those  of  secular  schools  are 
child's  play.  They  need  teachers  su- 
perior in  i)owcr  and  training  to  those  of 
secular  schools.  But  in  a  village  whose 
secular  schools  employ  six  teachers  you 
will  find  six  churches,  each  trying  to  find 
twelve  competent  teachers  for  its  Sun- 
day-school, or  seventy-two  in  all !  In  a 
union  Bible  school,  taught  by  the  best 
teachers  from  ail  the  churches,  the  lack 


134 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


of  good  teachers  would  still  be  severe; 
but  as  it  is  ! 

Some  may  object  that  in  a  union  school 
the  classes  would  be  too  large.  If 
there  are  really  good  teachers  that  can 
handle  successfully  only  six  scholars, 
six  may  be  made  their  limit  in  a  union 
school  as  in  a  sectarian  one ;  but  for 
most  good  teachers  the  ordinary  Sun- 
day-school class  is  far  too  small.  To  a 
secular  teacher  is  assigned  a  roomful, 
forty  or  more  at  a  time ;  why  not  to  a 
Bible  teacher? 

Yet  further,  consider  the  advantage  of 
union  schools  in  the  matter  of 
teacher-training.  The  Sunday-school 
world  is  thoroughly  awake  to  the  fact 
that  it  can  not  do  the  best  work,  even 
with  gifted  and  devout  teachers,  without 
systematic  and  persistent  training  in 
teachers'  meetings  and  normal  classes. 

Now,  if  good  teachers  are  rare,  teacher- 
trainers  are  rarer  still.  An  ordinary 
village  is  indeed  fortunate  if  it  contains 
a  single  person  thoroughly  capable  of 
training  teachers.  To  expect  each  of 
the  six  or  twelve  churches  of  a  village 
to  contain  such  a  person  is  the  height  of 
absurdity. 

That,  as  all  Sunday-school  workers  un- 
derstand, is  why  there  are  so  few 
teachers'  meetings  and  normal  classes, 


Union  Bible  Schools 


135 


because  there  is  no  one  to  conduct  them. 
When  a  really  helpful  leader  is  found, 
the  Sunday-school  teachers  flock  eagerly 
to  sit  at  his  feet.  To  confine  his  labors 
to  a  single  church  is  the  acme  of  waste- 
ful mismanagement. 

Indeed,  this  has  been  felt,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  young  people's  societies, 
no  part  of  our  church  life  has  advanced 
so  far  in  practical  union  as  our  Sunday- 
schools.  In  some  portions  of  the  country 
the  skilful  normal  teacher  of  the  Bible 
goes  from  town  to  town,  and  fills  as 
many  week-nights  as  he  will  with  en- 
thusiastic union  meetings  of  teachers, 
glad  to  pay  him  for  his  aid  in  their  un- 
salaried work.  Sometimes,  when  the 
scholars  as  well  as  the  teachers  are  ad- 
mitted, these  classes  win  a  steady,  de- 
lighted attendance  of  hundreds  and  even 
thousands. 

A  nd  this  point  is  to  be  noted  with  care : 


wrangling,  ever  mars  these  union  meet- 
ings. They  are  conducted  by  men  of  most 
positive  convictions.  The  most  success- 
ful of  all  these  leaders  holds  with  ardor 
some  peculiar  tenets  in  which  few  of  his 
hearers  sympathize.  And  yet  only  the 
utmost  harmony  marks  all  the  gather- 
ings. A  more  impressive  illustration  of 
the  entire  feasibility  of  Church  union  it 
would  be  impossible  to  furnish. 


doctrinal  dispute,  no  sectarian 


136  That  They  AU  May  Be  One 


But,  of  course,"  it  will  be  urged,  "  in 
these  union  classes  disputed  points 
of  doctrine  are  not  studied."  Yes,  they 
are  studied,  but  not  in  a  disputatious 
way.  The  time  is  happily  past  when 
Christians  would  find  it  impossible  to 
sit  down  peacefully  together  and  review 
the  Bible  passages  bearing  on  election 
or  foreordination  or  baptism  or  church- 
membership  or  pastoral  ordination.  The 
Christians  present  will  differ  in  their  in- 
terpretations still,  but  they  will  not  cease 
to  love  one  another. 

But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  how  often  does 
the  subject  of  baptism  come  up  even 
in  a  Baptist  Sunday-school?  Certainly 
not  as  often  as  it  should.  I  was  nurtured 
in  a  Presbyterian  school,  and  do  not  re- 
call a  single  discussion  of  election  or 
foreordination.  •  Neither  was  the  pres- 
byterial  form  of  church  government  once 
explained,  nor  were  its  advantages  over 
the  congregational  and  episcopal  forms 
once  pointed  out.  These  mooted  points 
of  doctrine  and  polity  form  no  appre- 
ciable portion  of  Sunday-school  instruc- 
tion in  our  sectarian  schools,  and  no  fear 
of  confusion  regarding  them  need  pre- 
vent the  formation  of  union  schools. 

"  Dut  these  things  should  be  taught," 
•D  some  one  objects.     "  Our  chil- 
dren," urges  one,  "  should  be  grounded 
in  the  blessed  truth  of  election."    "  Our 


Union  Bible  Schools 


137 


children,"  urges  another,  "  should  be  in- 
structed in  its  falsity."  "  Our  children," 
say  both,  "  should  not  be  exposed  to  the 
teaching  of  all  sorts  of  untruth  and  non- 
sense." 

To  which  it  may  be  replied  that  very 
few  parents  really  know  what  their 
children  are  taught  in  the  Sunday-school, 
and  would  often  be  surprised  if  they  did 
know ;  that  the  carefully  selected  teach- 
ers of  a  union  school  could  be  instructed 
not  to  touch  on  debatable  ground  and 
could  be  trusted  to  obey  their  instruc- 
tions: and  that  if,  say  twice  a  year,  the 
union  school  broke  up  into  denomina- 
tional divisions  for  the  study  on  two 
Sabbaths  of  denominational  tenets,  the 
scholars  would  receive  more  of  such  in- 
struction than  they  are  receiving  now. 

A  nother  gain  from  union  Bible  schools 


is  the  enthusiasm  that  comes  from 
numbers.  Children  are  readily  impressed 
by  crowds  and  gain  inspiration  from 
them.  Christianity  becomes  in  their 
thought  a  mighty,  conquering  force, 
quite  other  than  the  weak,  inefficient, 
dreary  affair  exemplified  by  the  average 
school. 

pvoes  any  one  fear  that  these  large 
union  schools  would  be  too  bulky  to 
manage  ?  On  the  contrary,  it  is  the  great 
schools,  such  as  Mr.  Wanamaker's,  that 


138  Tfut  They  All  May  Be  One 


are  the  most  orderly  and  the  most  easily 
controlled. 

A  nd  the  controlling  agents,  the  officers, 


efficient  than  the  average,  because  they 
would  be  the  pick  of  the  average.  Few 
have  the  organizing  ability,  the  personal 
force,  the  original  and  presiding  mind, 
necessary  for  a  good  Sunday-school 
superintendent.  If  we  can  find  one  such 
person  to  direct  our  public  schools,  we 
are  pleased ;  but  we  expect  to  find  a 
dozen  for  our  churches.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  average  village  would  do  well 
to  provide  from  all  its  churches  a  single 
capable  superintendent  of  a  union  Bible 
school,  and  maintain  the  necessary  suc- 
cession. 

A  nd  so  with  all  the  outfit  of  a  union 


not  only  the  best  teachers  and  the  best 
superintendent,  but  the  best  available 
secretary,  treasurer,  chorister,  librarian. 
An  inspiring  choir  could  be  organized, 
perhaps  an  orchestra.  You  could  have 
an  ideal  library.  The  primary  depart- 
ment would  sliine.  The  adult  class  would 
actually  fill  its  room.  You  could  form 
an  inspiring  class  for  young  men.  You 
could  afl^ord  a  stereopticon.  There 
would  be  among  you  an  artist  for  black- 
board work,  and  some  one  skilled  in 
giving  object  talks.  There  is  no  end  to 
the  possibilities  of  combined  forces. 


school  would  be  more 


It  would  give  the  scholars 


Union  Bible  Schools 


139 


As  to  collections?  There  will  be  no 
trouble  with  those  for  the  school  ex- 
penses ;  and  as  for  missionary  gifts,  di- 
vide the  contributions  among  the  de- 
nominations in  a  ratio  agreed  upon,  or 
let  the  members  of  different  denomina- 
tions designate-  their  gifts  for  their  re- 
spective boards  by  envelopes  of  different 
colors. 

As  to  lesson  helps?  There  is  no  espe- 
cial gain  from  uniformity,  and  each 
might  have  those  published  by  his  own 
denomination  if  he  preferred. 

As  to  courses  of  study ?  Sometimes  the 
Episcopalians  and  Lutherans  might 
yield  their  preference  to  follow  the  course 
of  the  Church  year,  and  sometimes  the 
other  denominations  might  profitably  try 
their  plan.  It  is  the  one  Bible  that  is 
studied  in  all  courses,  and  the  enormous 
advantage  of  imion  schools  is  worth  the 
occasional  sacrifice  of  preference. 

As  to  a  Sunday-school  room?  Could 
any  place  be  found  large  enough  for 
a  union  school  ? 

In  the  good  time  coming,  when  we  shall 
have  "  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Kala- 
mazoo," there  will  be  entire  church  build- 
ings blessedly  vacated  for  the  sole  use 
of  the  Bible  school.  They  will  be  re- 
modeled, floors  will  be  inserted,  abun- 
dant classrooms  will  be  made,  libraries, 
officers'  rooms,  committee-rooms,  rooms 


I40  That  They  AU  May  Be  One 


for  apparatus,  assembly-rooms.  Fine 
times  are  coming  for  the  Bible  schools ! 

Dut  until  they  come?  If  the  union 
'-^  school  outgrows  the  accomodations 
of  any  church,  it  must  be  divided,  as 
many  secular  schools  divide,  certain  de- 
partments going  to  one  church  and  other 
departments  to  a  second  church.  Even 
then,  occasional  general  assemblies  might 
be  held,  when  the  entire  school  could  see 
itself,  and  maintain  the  consciousness  of 
the  host. 


he  formation  of  these  union  Bible 


*■  schools  will  be  for  many  communi- 
ties their  first  practical  step  toward  vital 
Church  union.  The  experiences  of  union 
schools  on  our  frontier,  where  for  many 
decades  such  schools  have  inaugurated 
organized  Christianity,  shows  us  how 
feasible  will  be  the  undertaking,  and  how 
richly  God  will  bless  it.  What  but  His 
full  blessing  could  we  expect?  For  the 
Bible  is  one,  as  He  is  one.  It  is  His  one 
manual  for  His  one  army.  His  one  letter 
to  His  one  Church.  The  united  study 
of  it  will  go  happily  far  toward  fulfill- 
ing Christ's  longing, 


^bat  tbc)?  all 
mai?  be 


one. 


XV 


Union  Training-Schools 

O  task  now  before  the  churches 
is  so  easy,  grateful,  and  neces- 
sary  as   the   duty   of  leading 
young  people  along  the  ways  of 
religious  cooperation  and  unity. 

It  is  especially  necessary  because  no  re- 
form is  permanent  ever  until  it  seizes 
on  the  imagination  and  affection  of  the 
young;  but  if  young  men  and  young 
women  take  it  up,  with  their  fresh  ar- 
dor blessedly  blind  to  bugaboos,  and  with 
their  determination  unwitting  of  failures, 
its  future  is  assured. 

It  is  especially  grateful  and  easy  be- 
cause the  young  are  not  tied  by  tra- 
dition or  bound  by  the  shackles  of  cus- 
tom. Routine  has  not  become  their 
home.  They  like  to  try  new  methods. 
They  are  enterprising  and  daring  in  their 
application  of  principles.  They  delight 
in  the  impossible,  and  so  they  are  glo- 
riously Christian. 

Cor  the  sake  of  the  young,  in  the  sphere 
'  of  religion  as  so  nobly  in  the  secular 
sphere,  the  old  should  be  glad  to  make 

141 


142 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


sacrifices.  It  should  be  easier  for  the 
old  to  give  up  their  wonted  forms,  the 
familiar  names  and  ways  of  doing  things, 
if  thereby  they  may  build  up  for  the 
young  a  stronger  and  truer  Church. 

Never  shall  I  forget  how,  when  I  re- 
moved from  West  to  East  to  enter 
my  present  work,  my  blessed  mother 
gladly  came  with  me,  uprooting  precious 
associations  and  memories,  establishing 
for  me,  amid  scenes  sadly  strange  to  her, 
the  dear  home  that  her  last  days  have 
consecrated.  Such  devotion  will  not  be 
lacking  in  the  Church  when  the  young 
move  East  toward  the  sunrise  of  Chris- 
tian union. 


nd  the  new  methods,  so  far  as  Church 


sary,  will  soon  grow  sacred.  Not  many 
years  of  holy  service  are  needed  to  give 
sanctity  to  anything.  To  those  that  have 
reared  its  rough  walls,  have  communed 
in  it,  worshiped  in  it,  and  in  it  given 
their  children  to  the  Lord,  a  frontier 
church  is  as  sacred  as  Westminster  Ab- 
bey. It  is  the  heart  that  anoints,  and  not 
the  calendar. 


renders  new  methods  neces- 


Young  people  need  the  enthusiasm  of 
numbers,  appreciate  it,  and  use  it 
well.    They  are  gregarious.    They  pro- 


Union  Training-Schools 


143 


gress  in  one  another's  growth,  climb  on 
one  another's  shoulders. 

V/oung  people  need  the  inspiration  of 
1  ideals.  An  unideal  condition  frets 
them,  they  are  impatient  with  it.  They 
do  not  see,  and  often  rightly  they  do  not 
see,  why  men  should  endure  it. 

\J  oung  people  easily  learn  to  know  and 
*  love  one  another.  Their  affections 
are  pliant  and  magnetic.  Pedantries, 
formalities,  prejudices,  do  not  hamper 
them. 

All  that  are  familiar  with  the  great 
interdenominational  religious  work 
among  young  people  that  began  with  the 
founding  of  Christian  Endeavor  societies 
in  1881.  understand  most  vividly  how 
easily  Church  union  could  be  inaugu- 
rated, with  what  absence  of  friction,  with 
what  harmony  of  impulse,  with  what  ap- 
proval of  conscience.  Christian  En- 
deavor conventions  and  the  work  of 
Christian  Endeavor  unions  have  proved 
themselves  the  efficient  solvent  of  the 
sects.  There  the  young  people  and  their 
sympathizing  pastors  and  older  friends 
forget  that  they  are  Baptists  and  Method- 
ists, Presbyterians  and  Congrcgational- 
ists  and  Lutherans,  and  so  on,  and  know 
themselves  and  their  brothers  only  as  fol- 
lowers of  the  same  precious  Redeemer. 
They  hold  their  distinctive  views  as  te- 


144 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


naciously  and  faithfully  as  ever,  but  they 
also  hold  one  another's  hands.  In  other 
words,  they  have  strangely  found  it  pos- 
sible simultaneously  to  follow  Conscience 
and  Christ ! 


v>  our  brothers  that  believe  in  sects — 
or  rather  each  in  his  own  sect — have 
founded  sectarian  young  people's  socie- 
ties. I  am  not  blaming  them ;  if  I  held 
their  views,  I  should  have  done  just 
what  they  did :  I  am  blaming  their  views. 
They  have  accomplished  nothing  with 
their  young  people  that  they  could  not 
have  accomplished  within  the  interde- 
nominational movement,  nothing  that 
other  churches  have  not  accomplished 
within  that  movement;  but  they  have 
kept  them  from  contact  with  other 
young  people,  from  the  contagion  of 
fellowship,  the  grasp  of  the  union  ideal. 

(deprecate  this,  but  no  more  severely 
than  many  in  those  denominations  dep- 
recate it.  The  fairest  promise  of  vital 
Church  union  since  Pentecost  has  been 
checked,  but  not  permanently.  I  do  not 
despair  of  seeing  with  my  own  eyes  a 
united  young  people's  society  that  shall 
prove  the  beginning  of  a  unit<^d  Church. 
Yet  who  can  tell  in  what  way  or  by  what 
instrumentality  the  Holy  Spirit  may 
move  upon  the  hearts  of  men  ?  It  is  the 
duty  of  those  that  love  His  will  to  keep 
wide  open  all  avenues  to  His  approach. 


honestly,  of  course. 


Union  Tratntng-Schools 


145 


Let  us,  therefore,  lead  our  young 
Christians  closer  together!  It  is  so 
easy  to  bring  it  about  "  that  they  all  may 
be  one  " ! 

A  nd,  without  regard  at  first  to  the 


organization,  let  us  unite  the  young  lo- 
cally in  these  training-schools.  Union 
here  is  even  more  necessary  and  useful 
than  with  the  Bible  schools,  because  the 
young  people's  societies  are  always 
smaller,  and  because  they  are  usually  left 
without  the  guidance  and  support  of  the 
old  and  experienced  workers. 


hese   societies   are  training-schools. 


^  They  afford  the  only  drill  we  are 
giving  the  young  in  Christian  expression, 
in  testimony,  in  Biblical  exhortation  and 
"  edifying,"  in  "  prophesying,"  in  giving, 
in  missions,  in  executive  work,  in  the 
conduct  of  meetings,  the  management  of 
committees,  in  the  discipline  of  others, 
in  evangelism. 

Cew,  indeed,  in  any  church  are  able 
^  leaders  of  the  young  along  the  lines 
of  these  activities.  It  is  not  easy  work ; 
even  the  well-trained  pastor  (seldom 
trained,  however,  by  his  seminary  for 
this  one  task!)  often  has  failures  here  to 
confess.  How  unwise  it  is  not  to  focus 
on  the  problem  the  best  leaders  of  the 
young  in  all  the  community ! 


problem   of  denominational 


146  Thai  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


Here  in  the  Methodist  church  is  a 
most  enthusiastic  and  well-informed 
student  of  missions,  most  skilful  also  in 
imparting  to  others  his  enthusiasm  and 
his  knowledge.  Were  the  young  people's 
societies  united,  he  could  conduct  the 
mission  study  of  all.  What  a  strateg- 
ical error  not  thus  to  utilize  him ! 

Here  in  the  Baptist  church  is  a  young 
man  whom  God  has  anointed  to  be 
an  evangelist.  He  has  led  some  souls 
to  Christ,  and  he  has  the  power  of  in- 
spiring others  with  his  own  evangelistic 
zeal.  Why  should  he  not  be  doing  that 
great  work  in  a  united  young  people's 
society  ?  What  a  blunder  not  to  use  him 
thus! 

A  mong  the  young  Presbyterians  there 


is  a  band  of  generous  givers.  They 
are  true  stewards  of  the  Lord's  bounty, 
and  the  grace  of  stewardship  is  blessedly 
contagious  from  association  with  them. 
Why  should  not  that  contagion  spread 
through  a  united  young  people's  society  ? 
What  a  gain  for  the  churches  and  the 
young  people  if  it  should ! 

And  the  prayer-meetings!  If  we  grant 
the  wisdom  of  union  prayer-meetings 
for  their  elders,  surely  we  must  see  them 
to  be  wise  for  the  young  people.  My 
heart  aches  when  I  think  in  how  many 
communities,  Sunday  after  Sunday, 
young  men  and  women,  boys  and  girls, 
straggle  into  their  separated  churches. 


Union  Training-Schools 


147 


and  heroically  strive  with  their  few 
voices  to  fill  the  echoing  spaces,  with 
their  brief  and  stammering  sentences  to 
fill  the  hour,  and  with  their  paltry  num- 
bers to  fill  out  the  full  measure  of  enthu- 
siasm for  which  they  long. 


tasted  something  better.  Not  one 
of  them  but  has  risen  early,  some  con- 
vention morning,  and  made  his  eager 
way  to  a  sunrise  prayer-meeting.  They 
have  crowded  in,  Methodist  and  Friends, 
Lutherans  and  Episcopalians,  Presby- 
terians and  Brethren,  Disciples  and  Con- 
gregationalists,  and  they  have  filled 
every  seat.  With  what  exultation  rise 
the  songs !  How  swift  and  unforced  are 
the  testimonies !  How  eager  are  the 
prayers  I  How  short  is  the  time  !  And 
as  the  happy  company  of  united  Chris- 
tians stream  from  the  doorways,  lo !  the 
Sun  has  risen  upon  them. 

P  xperiences  such  as  these  might  be  the 
weekly  joy  of  all  young  disciples. 
They  arc  ready  for  them ;  dimly  and 
uncertainly  they  are  longing  for  them ; 
it  is  the  Church's  duty  to  bestow  the 
opportunity. 

perplexities  of  detail  are  here  even 


*  less  than  in  the  case  of  the  Sunday- 
school.  Union  prayer-meeting  topics 
are  all  ready,  used  for  years  in  all  na- 
tions by  more  than  eighty  different  dc- 


probably,  but  has 


148  That  They  All  May  Be  One 


nominations.  Union  mission-study  text- 
books are  all  ready,  the  product  of  happy 
cooperation  among  the  deno*ninations. 
As  for  the  gifts,  after  the  society  ex- 
penses are  paid,  they  may  be  divided  in 
an  agreed  ratio  among  the  mission  boards 
of  the  denominations  represented,  or 
each  young  Christian  may  make  a  sepa- 
rate contribution  designated  for  his  own 
boards.  As  for  the  meeting-place,  if  the 
society  outgrows  it,  it  may  divide,  geo- 
graphically and  not  sectarianly,  holding 
occasional  reunions  in  some  church ;  or, 
they  may  all  meet  for  the  opening  and 
closing  exercises  in  the  main  auditorium 
of  the  church,  separating  into  different 
rooms  for  the  prayer  and  testimony  of 


hese  union  services  might  well  be  ap- 


*■  proached  gradually.  Begin  with  one 
or  two  meetings,  under  the  best  auspices 
possible,  and  gain  an  appetite  for  more. 
Send  fraternal  delegates  weekly  among 
the  societies,  that  they  may  carry  kindly 
messages  back  and  forth,  and  reports 
of  one  another's  work.  Knit  the  so- 
cieties together  by  common  effort  of 
some  sort,  such  as  a  union  mission-study 
class,  or  a  union  class  for  the  study  of 
the  Bible  or  of  civics.  Hold  union  so- 
cials, and  no  other,  for  a  year,  and  be 
systematic  and  persistent  in  your  pur- 
pose to  know  one  another.  Then  when 
you  come  together  finally  it  will  be  to 
remain  together. 


all. 


Union  Training-Schoots 


149 


The  leaders  in  all  this  must  be  the  pas- 
tors, or  it  will  not  be  done  at  all. 
How  much  more  two  pastors,  with  their 
united  energy  and  wisdom,  might  do  for 
two  societies  united  than  ever  each  could 
do  for  his  own  society  separated !  Are 
there  no  ministers  that  can  work  togeth- 
er, two  and  two,  after  Christ's  precept? 
Are  there  no  Paul-and-Silas  possibilities 
among  modern  preachers  of  the  Gospel? 
I  think  there  are  many,  tho  sadly  as  yet 
unrealized. 

And  how  fruitfully  and  easily  four  or 
live  ministers  might  lead  a  union  so- 
ciety of  young  people,  each  according  to 
his  talents  and  liking !  One  might  inspire 
their  missionary  studying  and  giving, 
one  might  help  the  leaders  of  the 
prayer-meetings,  one  might  oversee 
the  music,  another  the  socials,  another 
the  systematic  Bible  study;  and  they 
might  shift  and  vary  and  interchange 
these  labors  so  that  each  would  give 
his  best  and  give  it  most  easily. 

\A/hat  a  spectacle  to  the  young  would 
^  ^  be  such  unsdfish  devotion  of  their 
pastors!  What  an  object-lesson  in  co- 
operation !  And  to  the  pastors  themselves 
what  a  blessed  communion  of  service! 
And  to  our  Lord  himself  what  a  delight ! 

let  us  not  forget  that  it  was  He 
who  commanded  Peter  "  Feed  my 
sheep,"  and  did  not  omit  to  add,  "  Feed 


I50  That  They  All  May  Be  One 


my  lambs,"  and  surely  would  not  have 
the  young  of  His  flock  omitted  from  any 
of  the  joys  of  the  fold,  but  rather  would 
have  those  joys  begin  with  them, — He  it 
was  that,  over  and  over  in  the  most 
solemn  hour  with  His  disciples,  urged 
the  prayer 


Ebat  tbep  all 
ma^  be 
one. 


XVI 


Union  Pastorates 

ES ;  are  there  no  Paul  and  Silas 
among  our  modern  apostles? 
Xay,  rather,  are  there  no  Paul 
and  Silas  and  Timothy  and  Luke 
and  Jude  and  John  Mark  and  Barnabas 
and  Apollos?  Are  there  none  that  are 
willing  to  bury  pride  and  prejudice,  and 
in  love,  humility,  and  perfect  zeal  go 
forth,  two  and  two,  four  and  four,  ten 
and  ten,  for  the  saving  of  men  and  the 
winning  of  the  world?  I  believe  that 
there  are  many  such. 

Why  is  it  that  in  business  the  suc- 
cesses of  the  single  tradesman  are 
so  few  and  the  successes  of  the  commer- 
cial company  so  many?  What  is  the 
value  of  a  business  partnership?  It 
means  a  massing  of  resources.  A  larger 
store  can  be  bought,  a  larger  advertise- 
ment put  in  the  paper,  more  clerks  hired, 
more  goods  purchased  and  at  a  smaller 
price.  It  means  a  massing  of  intelli- 
gence. Competition  is  strenuous.  Busi- 
ness interests  are  complicated.  Each  line 
of  action  calls  for  and  fully  occupies 
a  peculiar  talent.  One  man  is  good  at 
buying,  another  at  selling.  One  is  a 
master  advertiser,  another  is  a  shrewd 


151 


152  Thai  They  All  May  Be  One 


investor.  One  can  select  clerks  well, 
another  can  keep  books,  another  can  en- 
tertain the  leading  customers,  and  wisely 
gage  their  credit.  It  means  also,  and 
at  the  best,  a  massing  of  courage.  Each 
partner  contributes  confidence,  and  that 
is  often  more  than  coin  or  counsel.  They 
support  one  another,  and  no  adverse  gale 
can  overthrow  them. 

'nphere  is  no  reason  of  all  these  that 


*  does  not  apply  to  union  pastorates. 
Our  present  system  of  separate  pastor- 
ates involves  an  enormous  waste,  often 
of  money,  always  of  time  and  strength 
and  courage.  It  is  a  waste  that  would 
not  for  a  moment  be  tolerated  in  the 
business  world. 

In  the  village  of  Bunkerville  there  are 
five  churches  of  five  sects.  Their  vi- 
tal interests  are  one,  as  every  Christian 
in  the  village  would  admit.  The  five 
ministers  are  fighting  the  same  devil, 
preaching  the  same  salvation,  ambassa- 
dors of  the  same  Christ.  They  have  far 
more  in  common  than  the  average  set 
of  business  partners.  And  yet  they  carry 
on  five  isolated  enterprises. 

One  church  would  easily  hold  the  five 
congregations,  yet  they  maintain 
five  churches,  with  heat  and  light  and 
repairs  and  janitors  and  insurance  and 


Union  Pastorates 


153 


carpets  and  cushions  and  subscription 
papers  and  church  fairs. 

/^ne   sermon   would   suffice   for  the 


united  congregation  in  the  morning 
and  one  in  the  evening,  but  they  prepare 
ten.  Each  minister  might  preach  one- 
fifth  as  often  and  five  times  as  well.  Or, 
during  four-fifths  of  the  time,  each 
preacher  might  be  out  in  the  highways 
and  hedges,  compelling  them  to  come  in 
— preaching  in  country  schoolhouses,  in 
barns,  in  the  market-place,  in  the  park, 
in  the  jail,  wherever  his  Master  would 
preach.  And  after  four  Sundays  of 
such  work,  how  he  would  glorify  the 
home  pulpit  on  the  fifth  Sunday !  how  he 
would  make  the  sermons  shine ! 

X  A /ith  the  fivefold  congregation  would 


"  '  come  quite  a  fivefold  inspiration 
to  the  preacher.  Quarter-filled  pews 
give  no  quarter  to  the  sermons.  Nothing 
is  so  eloquent  as  a  multitude  of  human 
faces,  and  nothing  is  more  productive 
of  eloquence.  It  was  the  thronged 
church  quite  as  much  as  the  great  emer- 
gency that  made  Chrysostom.  Those 
faces  press  upon  the  preacher  in  his 
study  and  surround  him  as  he  walks,  up- 
lifting all  his  thoughts  upon  insistent 
waves  of  appeal.  To  compel  each  min- 
ister in  Bunkcrvillc  to  preach  to  only 
one-fifth  of  the  possible  congregation  is 
to  lower  by  four-fifths  the  power  of  the 
Bunkerville  pulpit. 


154 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


Moreover,  all  preachers,  even  the 
greatest,  are  limited  in  their  range 
of  themes.  To  each,  certain  aspects  of 
truth  make  a  powerful  appeal,  but  not 
others.  Each,  preaching  at  least  one 
hundred  sermons  a  year,  is  at  his  best 
not  one-fourth  of  the  time,  because  not 
one-fourth  of  the  time  is  he  a  prophet, 
delivering  the  word  God  has  given  to 
him.  God's  word  is  spoken  always,  but 
as  the  Athenian  actor  mouthed  the  words 
of  ^schylus,  through  an  impassive 
mask.   He  has  not  become  his  message. 

If  those  five  preachers,  therefore,  would 
unite  their  sundered  pastorates,  Bun- 
kerville  would  have  five  times  the  chance 
at  a  completed  Word  of  God,  all  forms 
and  phases  of  truth.  One  would  preach 
as  a  poet,  one  as  a  scholar,  one  as  a 
practical  man  of  affairs,  one  as  a  seer, 
one  as  a  saint. 

The  great  problem  of  every  preacher 
is  to  satisfy  his  congregation;  not 
in  any  gross  sense,  but  to  meet  fully  the 
infinitely  complex  needs  of  the  complex 
company  before  him.  No  one  man,  be 
it  Spurgeon  himself,  is  adequate  for  that 
task  in  a  congregation  of  fif*:y.  When 
the  congregation  in  Bunkerville  becomes 
five  hundred,  and  the  five  ministers  focus 
their  five  characters  upon  the  one  audi- 
ence, the  church  will  have  five  times  the 
chance  at  satisfaction  with  its  preaching. 


Union  Pastorates 


155 


And  if  any  one  objects  that  Christ  satis- 
fies all  men  and  that  the  true  preacher  is 
only  holding  forth  Christ,  while  the  Holy 
Spirit  applies  the  truth  to  the  heart  of 
each  listener,  let  us  remember  what  we 
continually  observe  that  not  even  the 
minister  most  efficient  in  humility  can 
strip  his  message  of  human  clogs  and 
speak  as  never  man  spake.  Always  the 
mouthpiece  colors  the  truth,  and  of  two 
men  equally  the  mouthpieces  of  the  Spir- 
it, one  may  help  us  profoundly  and  an- 
other never  a  whit. 

But  every  year  increases  the  work  of 
the  minister  outside  the  pulpit,  and, 
thus  far,  rightly  so.  Here,  too,  the  union 
pastorate  proves  gloriously  wise. 

Not  all  ministers  ought  to  preach,  as 
many  a  church  and  many  a  would- 
be  preacher  have  discovered  to  their 
grief  and  dismay.  This  foolish  system 
by  which  every  church  requires  from 
one  man  all  the  "  diversities  of  gifts  " 
that  Paul  declared  do  not  exist  in  one 
man  and  that  did  not  exist  in  Paul  him- 
self, insisting  that  he  be  prophet  and 
teacher  and  evangelist  and  pastor  and 
speaker  in  tongues,  that  he  be  financier 
and  architect  and  musician  and  lecturer 
and  after-dinner  orator,  that  he  be  good 
at  chalk-talks  and  object-lessons  and  out- 
door speaking,  that  he  call  on  the  sick 
and  the  poor  and  the  fashionable,  that 


156 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


he  conduct  charities  and  young  people's 
societies  and  mission-study  classes  and 
prayer-meetings  and  marriages  and 
funerals,  that  he  shine  at  conventions 
and  conferences  and  ordinations  and  in 
the  village  improvement  society  and  at 
the  high-school  commencement  and  the 
Sunday-school  concert,  that  he  write 
articles  and  a  book  and  give  stereop- 
ticon  lectures,  that  he  keep  posted 
on  literature  and  science  and  current 
events  and  do  not  forget  his  Hebrew — 
this  foolish  system,  I  say,  that  imposes 
on  every  minister  a  variety  of  burdens 
that  no  other  profession  or  trade  would 
dream  of  assuming,  is  responsible  for 
many  a  broken  heart  and  crushed  life. 
Not  even  Paul  could  be  all  things  to  all 
men  after  this  encyclopedic  fashion,  and 
few  men  are  Pauls. 

No ;  not  all  ministers  should  preach,  nor 
should  all  preachers  be  pastors,  nor 
should  all  prophets  be  evangelists.  Every 
modern  institution  except  the  Church 
has  recognized  the  need  of  the  special- 
ist. The  college  does  not  want  its  Greek 
professor  to  dabble  in  mathematics,  the 
law  looks  askance  on  judges  that  write 
poetry,  the  merchant  prefers  an  adver- 
tising manager  that  is  not  devoted  to 
the  flute.  The  ideal  Church,  when  our 
religion  becomes  businesslike,  will  de- 
mand specialists  for  its  ministers,  and 
not  men  of  the  smattering  mind. 


Union  Pastorates 


157 


his  is  possible  only  with  union  pas- 


i  torates.  In  such  a  combination,  one 
would  be  the  young  folk's  minister,  a 
specialist  in  the  work  of  the  Bible-school 
and  the  training-school,  a  leader  in  the 
social  life  of  the  young,  in  their  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  life.  It  would  mat- 
ter little  whether  he  preached  or  not. 
Another  would  be  the  pastor  of  the  flock ; 
he  would  carry  healthful  cheer  to  sick- 
beds, and  ever-glowing  youth  to  the 
aged,  and  the  joy  of  the  Lord  to  mourn- 
ers, and  guidance  to  the  perplexed,  and 
warning  to  those  that  near  the  preci- 
pice. It  would  matter  little  whether  he 
preached  or  not.  For  another  would  be 
the  prophet.  He  would  be  much  alone 
with  God.  He  would  have  time  for 
mountains.  He  would  range  libraries. 
He  would  delve  deep  in  the  Book.  He 
dare  not  be  isolated  from  men,  but  he 
would  not  be  chained  to  them.  He 
would  preach,  and  it  would  matter  little 
how  many  calls  he  made.  Nor  would 
one  be  above  another,  for  all  would  be 
ambassadors  of  Christ,  speaking  His 
word  and  doing  His  will. 


hus  union  pastorates  would  give  a 


*  chance  for  ministerial  specialties,  the 
thorough  development  of  ministerial  lik- 
ings and  powers.  One  would  be  a  stu- 
dent of  missions,  able  to  teach  the  in- 
spiring history  of  Church  extension,  able 
to  promote  missionary  giving  and  going, 
and  to  make  the  Church  of  Christ  in 


158  That  They  All  May  Be  One 


Bunkerville  a  vital  part  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  Universal.  One  would  be- 
come a  student  of  the  slums,  the  poor, 
the  improvident,  the  criminal,  and  would 
make  the  Church  of  Christ  a  genuine 
leaven  in  Bunkerville.  One  would  de- 
velop the  people  in  the  great  doctrines 
of  Christ ;  one  would  instruct  in  the  prin- 
ciples and  practise  of  temperance,  one 
would  open  the  treasures  of  the  Word. 

A  11  the  ministers,  of  course,  would  love 


Bible ;  but  not  all  would  be  skilled  teach- 
ers. All  would  love  missions,  but  not  all 
would  be  widely  informed  regarding  mis- 
sions. All  would  be  firmly  based  on  the 
great  doctrines,  but  not  all  would  be  able 
to  make  others  doctrinal  enthusiasts.  And 
the  many  of  these  abilities,  or  even  all  of 
them,  existed  in  one  man,  he  would  be 
able  to  work  along  one  line  at  a  time, 
with  fulness  of  efficiency  and  satisfaction. 

Some  will  deny  that  ministers  would  be 
able  thus  to  divide  the  work  among 
themselves,  thus  to  recognize  their  own 
limitations  and  special  abilities,  thus 
without  friction  or  selfish  and  ambitious 
competition  to  develop  the  church  each 
along  the  line  of  his  own  talents.  "  They 
would  all  want  to  be  in  the  pulpit  at 
once,"  the  scoffer  will  say.  "  Each  would 
claim  for  his  specialties  more  time, 
money,  and  interest  than  they  should 


constantly  use  the 


Union  Peistorates 


159 


have;  there  would  be  heart-burning, 
strife,  disgraceful  ruptures." 

In  a  business  house  one  partner  buys  the 
silks  and  another  the  cottons  while  a 
third  superintends  the  advertising,  each 
using  his  own  special  knowledge  for  the 
good  of  the  firm  and  the  promotion  of 
the  business.  Will  one  insist  upon  buy- 
ing too  much  cotton?  Will  the  second 
desire  to  display  silks  to  the  disadvantage 
of  other  goods  ?  Will  the  third  want  all 
the  firm's  surplus  for  advertising?  Is  it 
true  that  business  men  can  combine  for 
common  ends,  but  ministers  can  not  com- 
bine for  the  furthering  of  the  King's 
business  ? 

Ministers  should  love  one  another  more 
than  men  of  other  callings.  They 
should  set  the  churches  a  great  and  con- 
stant example  of  humility,  of  preferring 
one  another,  of  fruitful  cooperation.  I 
believe  that  they  will. 

Church  union,  thus,  will  not  mean 
fewer  ministers  than  now,  tho  there 
will  be  fewer  churches.  It  will  mean,  in 
the  end  and  speedily,  more  ministers 
than  now,  for  there  will  be  more  Chris- 
tians to  be  served  and  led.  Also  it  will 
mean  better  ministers,  for  able  young 
men  will  be  attracted  to  the  ministry 
more  than  now,  seeing  in  it  broad  and 
adequate  scope  for  their  abilities. 


i6o 


That  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


Best  of  all,  and  most  to  be  enjoyed  by 
the  ministers  of  Christ's  united 
Church,  will  be  the  support  and  comfort 
that  these  partners  in  the  most  glorious 
of  enterprises  will  give  one  another. 
They  will  be  frank.  They  will  give  one 
another  the  crystalline  criticism  for 
which  all  true  workers  long  and  which 
they  too  seldom  receive.  They  will  spur 
one  another  to  activity,  resolve  one  an- 
other's perplexities,  amend  one  another's 
faults,  supply  one  another's  deficiencies. 
Especially  they  will  praise  one  another's 
excellencies,  comfort  one  another's  sor- 
rows, be  to  one  another  unfailing  reser- 
voirs of  strength  and  cheer  and  inspira- 
tion. As  a  group  of  college  chums,  as 
the  members  of  a  football  team,  as  a 
military  company  in  a  campaign,  by  toil- 
ing together  and  perchance  fighting  a 
common  foe,  come  to  have  a  romantic 
afifection  for  one  another,  so  these  asso- 
ciated officers  in  Christ's  army.  The 
longer  they  work  together,  the  better 
will  they  work  together,  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  one  another's  peculi- 
arities, familiar  with  one  another's 
methods,  lovers  of  one  another's  ex- 
cellencies, the  efficient  supplements 
and  complements  of  one  another. 

And  as  they  get  closer  to  one  another, 
must  they  not  draw  ever  closer  to 
Christ,  who  dwells  in  them  all?  Their 
association  in  labor  will  associate  Him 
with  their  labors.    Their  strengthening 


Union  Pastorates 


i6i 


of  one  another  will  knit  them  to  His 
strength,  their  love  of  one  another  will 
bind  them  to  His  love.  The  union  of 
Christ's  under-shepherds  will  assure 
their  union  with  Him  whose  unutterable 
longing  for  them,  now  as  always,  is 

ZTbat  tbc^  all 
map  be 
one. 


XVII 


Church    Union    and  Church 
Extension 

HAT  if  Paul  had  gone  to  Rome 
witli  one  Gospel,  and  had  estab- 
lished there  one  denomination? 
What  if  Luke  had  taken  another 
Gospel,  and  founded  a  diflferent  denomi- 
nation ?  And  Timothy  a  third,  and  Titus 
a  fourth,  and  Silas  and  Barnabas  and 
Apollos  and  John  Mark  and  the  rest  had 
founded  each  his  own  denomination  at 
Rome  ? 

There  were  dififerences  of  opinion 
among  the  early  Christians,  as  we 
know,  sufficient  to  warrant  a  dozen  mod- 
ern sects.  They  were  blessedly  crushed 
down  and  pressed  together  by  persecu- 
tion. 

But  if  this  had  not  been  so ;  if  individu- 
ality had  run  riot ;  if  there  had  been 
no  catacombs  in  whose  narrow,  dark  con- 
fines the  blood  of  the  martyrs  might  be- 
come the  germinating  seed  of  the 
Church ;  if  men  had  replaced  Christ  at 
Rome,  and  they  had  said,  "  I  of  Paul  " 
and  "  I  of  Apollos  "  and  "  I  of  Luke  " 

162 


Church  Union  and  Church  Extension  163 


and  "  I  of  John,"  just  as  we  now  say 
"  I  of  Wesley  "  and  "  I  of  Calvin  "  and 
"  I  of  Luther  "  and  "  I  of  Swedenborg  "  ; 
if  thus,  instead  of  Christ's  one  body  lift- 
ed on  the  cross,  there  had  been  a  dozen 
fragments  of  His  body  lifted  on  twelve 
crosses,  would  the  Church  ever  have 
conquered  in  that  sign? 

To  be  sure,  Rome  had  many  sects,  fol- 
lowers of  many  idolatries,  devotees 
of  many  philosophies,  dupes  of  many 
charlatans,  fools  of  many  infidelities.  But 
Christ  conquered  because  He  did  not 
have. 


»  ^  the  missionary  operations  of  the 
Church  is  urged,  it  is  indeed  unworthy  of 
Christians  to  advance  the  oft-heard  plea 
that  the  multitude  of  our  denominations 
does  little,  if  any,  harm  because  heathen 
also  are  religiously  divided ;  they  are 
used  to  it ;  they  have  still  more  sects 
than  we  have. 

'T^o  be  sure  they  have,  with  their  mil- 


lion gods  !    But  our  God  is  one. 
/e  are  aping  the  monstrous  folly  of 


'  ^  polytheism.  We  are  carrying  to 
the  heathen,  not  many  gods,  perhaps, 
but  many  images  of  one  God — that  is, 
many  idols. 


the   sin   of   sectarianism  in 


164 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


What  an  argument  our  missionaries 
miss !    Of  what  a  plea  are  they 
deprived  by  our  sectarian  divisions  ! 

They  are  compelled  at  best  to  say,  "Yes, 
the  Christians  down  at  Ongole  are 
Baptists.  They  do  not  hold  the  true 
doctrine  in  all  respects,  but  they  are 
Christians  in  spite  of  it.  Yes,  the  Chris- 
tians up  at  Furrukabad  are  Presbyteri- 
ans. Their  belief  is  defective,  but  we 
consider  them  Christians.  Yes,  the 
Christians  over  in  Guntur  call  themselves 
Lutherans.  They  are  imperfect,  but  we 
admit  them  to  be  Christians.  You  must 
distinguish  between  the  General  Council 
Lutherans  and  the  General  Synod  Lu- 
therans near  by.  They  are  quite  different. 
How  ?  I  can  not  explain  it ;  wait  till  you 
have  become  more  of  a  Christian, 
Krishnu.  And  the  Free  Baptists  near 
Calcutta  ?  Oh  yes ;  they  are  quite  differ- 
ent from  the  Ongole  Baptists ;  they  are 
another  Church.  And  the  United  Pres- 
byterians at  Sialkot?  And  the  Reformed 
Presbyterians  General  Synod  at  Roor- 
kee  ?  Certainly  ;  both  are  different  from 
the  Furrukabad  Presbyterians  and  from 
each  other,  and  there  are  othc"  kinds  of 
Presbyterians,  and  many  other  Christian 
Churches.  But  my  own  denomination  is 
the  only  one  you  should  join,  because  it 
is  the  only  one  that  is  altogether  right. 
How  many  are  there  of  us?  About  one 
hundred  thousand ;  but  we  are  growing. 


Church  Union  and  Church  Extension  165 


Krishnu,  we  are  growing,  and  don't  you 
want  to  help  Perfect  Truth  to  grow  ?  " 

If  the  missionary  goes  on  to  say,  "  We 
are  all  one,  Krishnu,  one  at  heart, 
in  spite  of  our  divisions  into  sects," 
Krishnu  understands  perfectly  well.  He 
knows  how  the  sects  of  Hinduism  are 
one  at  heart.  He  is  at  home  in  the  miser- 
able matter. 

A  h,  could  our  missionaries  go  to  the 


Buddha  or  the  myriad  gods  of  India, 
and  summon  them  from  their  clash  of 
creeds,  their  tangle  of  allegiances,  to  a 
Christianity  as  simple,  clear,  and  whole 
as  our  Lord  left  it !  Could  it  only  be 
said  to  Krishnu :  "  My  brother,  God  is 
one.  He  has  made  of  one  blood  all  na- 
tions of  men.  He  has  sent  His  only  Son 
to  make  one  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  all. 
In  love  to  Him  all  His  millions  of  fol- 
lowers upon  the  earth  are  so  united  that, 
tho  our  opinions  manfully  vary,  we  work 
together  and  worship  together  and  to- 
gether hold  out  to  dying  men  the  one 
Bread  of  Life.  We  summon  you  to 
Christ.  Here  is  the  one  Book  that  tells 
you  of  Him.  As  you  read  it,  differing 
opinions  will  arise  with  you  as  with  us, 
for  this  religion  pierces  into  hidden  mys- 
teries, where  now  we  see  darkly ;  but  do 
not  allow  these  differing  opinions  to  dis- 
turb your  union  with  one  another  and 
with  Christ,  even  as  we  have  not.  Form 


followers  of   Shinto  or 


1 66 


Thai  They  All  May  Be  One 


your  own  Church  of  Christ  in  Ongole 
and  in  India,  as  we  have  formed  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  Bunkerville  and  in 
America,  and  let  it  all  be  one  Church  as 
it  is  all  one  Christ." 


o  some  such  appeal  the  missionaries 


*  have  been  driven,  in  many  fields,  so 
that  nowhere  has  Church  union  so  ad- 
vanced as  in  heathen  lands.  The  enor- 
mous pressure  of  opposing  forces  has 
driven  Christians  together  in  Kyoto  as 
of  old  in  Rome.  In  Japan,  in  Korea,  and 
in  Brazil  there  are  conspicuous  examples 
of  this,  and  denominations  are  one  in 
those  countries  that  at  home  are  leagues 
apart.  It  is  a  sort  of  veneer  laid  by  the 
missionaries  over  the  patched  and  pieced- 
out  carpentry  of  the  sects !  If  any  one 
thinks  that  Church  union  is  not  practi- 
cable, let  him  study  missions  in  Japan. 

On  the  home  mission  field  also  the  press- 
ure of  the  need  often  forms  union 
churches.  In  the  God-forgetting  towns 
of  the  frontier,  in  the  mining  camps  of 
Alaska,  among  the  loggers  of  Michigan 
and  Canada,  the  few  earnest  Christians 
are  compelled  to  join  hands  or  be  utterly 
submerged  by  the  great  tide  of  worldli- 
ness  and  sin.  In  the  little  apostolic 
churches  that  spring  up  there  is  no  ques- 
tion of  sect,  but  of  life.  "  If  we  do  not 
hang  together,  we  shall  all  hang  sepa- 
rately."   There  is  no  church  building. 


Church  Union  and  Church  Extension  167 


It  is,  very  literally,  "  the  church  in  the 
house  of  "  Jones  or  Smith.  They  are 
grateful  for  a  word  from  any  traveling 
preacher,  and  do  not  ask  or  note  the  fash- 
ion of  his  theological  waistcoat.  x\s  they 
struggle,  back  to  back,  against  bitter  an- 
tagonists, a  wonderful  love  for  one 
another  grows  among  those  primitive 
Christians,  and  a  wonderful  love  for 
their  one  Leader. 

But  as  the  camp  becomes  the  village, 
in  rush  the  sects.  A  good  "  location  " 
is  scented.  The  union  Church  is  as- 
siduously picked  apart  into  its  original 
straggling  elements.  First  one  sect  is 
drawn  aside,  and  two  weak  churches  are 
battling  for  life.  Further  disintegration 
rapidly  follows,  until  the  town  is  dotted 
with  almost  as  many  churches  as  saloons ; 
but  the  saloons  are  a  unit. 

A  h,  when  will  the  Church  of  Christ, 


national  government  extends  itself  into 
unoccupied  territory !  Come,  let  us  set 
up  two  post-offices  in  Newtown,  that 
competition  may  increase  the  trade  in 
postage  stamps !  Or,  Come,  let  us  have 
a  Democratic  post-office,  and  a  Republi- 
can post-office,  and  a  Prohibition  post- 
office,  and  a  Populist  post-office,  and  a 
Socialist  post-office  !  I  >ut  no ;  we  may 
not  divide  postage-stamps,  tho  we  may 
divide  Christ. 


extend  itself  as  our 


i68 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


When  will  the  churches  of  Christ, 
one  and  wise,  focus  their  forces 
on  strategic  points,  instead  of  dividing 
the  force  already  gathered  there  ?  When 
will  the  Church  of  Christ  in  America  say  : 
"  Down  in  Donna  Ana  County,  Arizona, 
is  the  settlement  of  Alesquite.  Let  us  lay 
hands  on  Philip  Andros,  and  send  him  to 
establish  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Mes- 
quite."  And  Philip  Andros  will  go  down 
to  Mesquite  backed  by  the  money  and 
prayers  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
America.  When  will  the  Church  of 
Christ  in  America  say,  "  Our  medical 
college  in  Tai-ting,  province  of  Kwei 
Chau,  needs  a  head  nurse.  Let  us  lay 
hands  on  Florence  Oriole,  and  send  her 
forth  to  the  hospital  wards  of  Tai-ting." 
And  Florence  Oriole  will  go,  backed  by 
the  money  and  prayers  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  in  America. 

Oh,  the  inspiration  we  are  losing,  for 
our  missionaries  and  ourselves, 
as  we  fail  of  this  united  advance !  What 
courage  it  would  give  us  all,  those  that 
go  and  those  that  stay,  if  the  churches 
of  Christ  were  the  Church  of  Christ !  A 
great  army  was  marching  in  small  de- 
tachments through  a  wilderness.  Each 
little  band  was  struggling  along,  dis- 
heartened, amid  the  tangled  underbrush. 
Each  felt  itself  almost  alone,  deserted. 
Of  a  sudden,  simultaneously,  the  detach- 
ments broke  out  upon  a  wide,  clear  plain, 
their  bands  playing,  their  banners  flying ; 


Church  Union  and  Church  Extension  169 


and  as  each  saw  the  other,  and  the  con- 
sciousness of  their  invincible  numbers 
and  power  rushed  upon  them,  the  entire 
army  burst  into  cheers  and  songs  of 
triumph.  So  will  it  be,  O  my  brothers, 
when  our  leaders  take  the  churches  of 
Christ  out  of  the  thickets  of  sectarian- 
ism ! 

I have  boasted,  thoughtlessly,  of  our  mul- 
titudinous missionary  societies  —  537 
for  foreign  lands  alone,  not  counting  the 
auxiliary  women's  boards.  But  I  shall 
boast  no  longer  of  our  weakness.  Why, 
when  I  go  to  Persia,  I  know  that  I  carry 
with  me,  for  my  defense  and  support,  the 
army  and  navy,  the  Congress  and  Presi- 
dent, the  overflowing  treasury  and  the 
united  millions  of  my  countrymen.  I, 
insignificant  I,  am  an  embodiment  in 
Persia  of  the  United  States.  That  is 
what  the  Church  of  Christ  should  do  for 
its  missionaries.  But  suppose  this  were 
not  so.  Suppose  that  only  the  power  of 
Massachusetts  were  back  of  me ;  and  not 
that,  either,  but  the  power  of  Middlesex 
County ;  nor  that,  either,  but  only  my  lit- 
tle village  of  Auburndale  to  back  me 
against  the  kingdom  of  Persia.  That 
would  be  what  our  churches  are  doing 
for  their  missionaries. 

I am  not  interested  here  in  the  matter 
of  money.  Perhaps  the  union  of  the 
churches  might  introduce  economies  into 
the  administration  of  missions,  the  there 


I70  That  They  All  May  Be  One 


seems  hardly  room  for  more  economy 
than  is  now  practised  there.  Perhaps  we 
could  get  along  with  fewer  missionary 
secretaries,  tho  I  doubt  it,  the  field  is  so 
vast  and  intricate.  And,  in  any  event,  if 
not  for  administration,  we  should  need 
them  all,  and  more,  for  inspiration,  for 
tours  among  the  churches,  arousing  and 
organizing  the  missionary  sentiment  as 
Paul  did. 

It  is  said  that  the  multiplication  of  mis- 
sionary boards  means  the  increase  of 
missionary  gifts,  that  537  foreign  mis- 
sionary societies  struggling  against  537 
deficits  would  raise — perhaps  not  537 
times  as  much  money  as  a  united  society, 
but  vastly  more  than  one  society  would 
raise.  And  this  is  said  in  the  face  of 
the  fact  that,  after  this  century  of  di- 
vided efifort,  the  mission  boards  are  con- 
tinually in  straits,  and  the  average  annual 
gift  for  missions  of  the  Protestant  Chris- 
tian is  less  than  forty  cents !  One  would 
think  it  time  at  least  to  try  a  new  method. 

But  no ;  motive  wins  money.  The 
grander  the  motive  animating  the 
churches,  the  more  generous  and  con- 
stant will  be  their  missionary  giving. 
Sectarian  propagandizing  is  an  ignoble 
motive,  and  is  always  backed  by  a  meager 
treasury.  The  denominations  that  are 
most  sectarian  in  spirit,  whether  radical 
or  conservative,  are  the  poorest  support- 
ers of  missions.    The  appeals  that  open 


Church  Union  and  Church  Extension  171 


men's  hearts  and  purses  and  tap  unHm- 
ited  streams  of  revenue  are  the  simple, 
ChristHke  appeals  to  pity,  and  patriotism, 
and  unselfish  devotion  to  the  good  of  the 
world.  A  billion  dollars  will  be  spent  for 
the  freedom  of  the  slaves ;  how  much 
would  be  spent  to  conserve  a  constitu- 
tional theory  ?  We  gladly  give  the  Presi- 
dent a  credit  of  fifty  million  dollars  to 
wage  war  for  Cuban  liberty ;  how  much 
would  we  have  given  him  to  procure 
Cuban  annexation  ?  Were  the  Church  of 
Christ,  one  united  body  of  Christ,  to  sum- 
mon us  in  the  one  Name  for  a  death-or- 
life  struggle  against  the  Kingdom  of 
Satan,  who  doubts  the  power  of  that 
mighty  appeal  to  win  all  needed  money 
and  men? 

"  Dut,"  some  well-informed  person 
D  will  say,  "  how  could  all  missions 
be  harmoniously  operated  when,  as  it  is, 
the  separate  boards  are  disturbed  by  so 
many  jealousies  and  antagonisms,  even 
the  home  and  foreign  boards  of  the  same 
denomination  quarreling,  and  the  board 
at  work  among  the  Mormons  suspicious 
of  the  board  at  work  among  the  In- 


'  '  had  one  hundred  Departments  of 
War,  each  operating  over  the  entire 
country  and  the  world,  at  liberty  to  es- 
tablish rival  forts  in  the  same  township, 
to  send  rival  recruiting  agents  into  the 


dians  ?  " 


What  if  the  United  States 


172  That  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


same  village  ?  What  but  suspicions,  jeal- 
ousies, and  antagonisms  could  you  ex- 
pect among  those  hundred  secretaries  of 
war  and  their  department  officers?  Pre- 
cisely that  is  what  \vc  are  doing  in  our 
warfare  against  the  devil ! 


here  are  jealousies,  to  be  sure,  in  our 


•1  national  Department  of  War,  for 
men  are  human,  and  we  can  not  expect 
the  love  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  to  ani- 
mate a  machine  for  worldly  warfare ;  but 
would  there  not  be  infinitely  more  wran- 
gling among  one  hundred  Departments 
of  War? 

Still  again  the  objectors  urge  an  ar- 
gument :  "  Even  the  missions  of  a 
single  denomination  present  complexi- 
ties and  endless  important  details  of  men 
and  measures.  It  is  proverbial  how  ig- 
norant is  the  average  Christian  of  the 
missions  of  his  own  denomination :  how 
could  he  ever  grasp  the  missions  of  a 
United  Church  of  Christ?  " 

How  can  a  citizen  of  Ohio  ever  grasp 
the  afifairs  of  the  United  States? 
Therefore  let  him  confine  his  knowledge, 
interest,  and  attention  to  Greene  County, 
or,  at  most,  to  the  Buckeye  State. 

Is  it  not  plain  that  patriotism  is  depend- 
ent upon  a  love  for  all  the  States,  and 
enough  knowledge  of  them  to  be  basis 
for  love?  Is  there  other  confidence  for 
our  country  except  when  Maine  cares 


Church  Union  and  Church  Extension  173 


for  California  and  Minnesota  has  regard 
for  Florida?  And  can  any  one  be  a 
patriot  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  if 
he  knows  only  what  his  little  corner  of 
it  is  doing? 

I am  ashamed  for  Christianity  when  I 
see  the  weazened  pamphlets  and 
pinched  periodicals  in  which  the  sects 
chronicle  each  its  own  little  missionary 
advance  or  retreat,  while  secularities 
have  their  scores  of  corpulent  magazines, 
elegant  in  appearance,  employing  the  best 
artists  and  authors,  winning  and  deserv- 
ing the  eager  interest  of  the  multitude. 
A  United  Church  of  Christ  would  par- 
allel them  and  surpass  them  with  fasci- 
nating and  resourceful  missionary  maga- 
zines. 

I am  ashamed  for  Christianity  when  I 
see  the  "  missionary  concerts  "  of  Bun- 
kerville.  Those  missionary  "  concerts," 
forsooth,  in  which  there  is  no  concerted 
action,  a  handful  of  Methodists  meeting 
to  pray  about  Methodist  missions,  quite 
ignorant  of  the  Presbyterians  next  door, 
and  those  Presbyterians,  another  hand- 
ful, praying  for  Presbyterian  missions, 
equally  ignorant  of  the  Methodists !  The 
Church  of  Christ  in  P>unkerville  will  hold 
genuine  missionary  "  concerts "  some 
day,  worthily  representing  the  world  of 
Christ  in  its  struggle  against  the  world 
of  evil. 


174  Thai  They  All  May  Be  One 


I  f  one  would  be  convinced  of  the  folly 
^  of  sectarianism,  let  him  study  the  mis- 
sions of  all  the  churches.  If  one  would 
learn  to  know  and  love  his  brethren  in 
Christ,  let  him  discover  what  they  have 
done  for  Christ,  and  in  what  spirit. 

LJowevcr  intensely  one  may  feel  the 
n  errors  of  Roman  Catholicism,  let 
him  read  the  history  of  Catholic  missions 
in  China  and  Korea,  and  he  will  never 
again  condemn  Romanists  without  quali- 
fication. 

Who  can  read  the  stories  of  Carey 
and  Judson  and  Boardman,  of 
Jewett  and  Clough  and  Colman,  of  Ash- 
more  and  Bagby  and  Richards,  the  sto- 
ries of  the  Telugus,  the  Karens,  the  Con- 
go— who  can  read  these  and  not  come  to 
admire  and  love  the  Baptists  ? 

Who  can  learn  about  Newell  and  Ag- 
new  and  Coan,  about  Goodell  and 
Schauffler  and  Hamlin,  about  Bridgman 
and  Parker  and  Logan,  Armenian  massa- 
cres, Boxer  massacres,  and  Haystack 
prayer-meeting — who  can  learn  about 
these,  and  not  come  to  admire  and  love 
the  Congregationalists  ? 

Who  can  study  the  history  of  the 
Fijis,  the  villages  of  north  India, 
the  progress  of  Korea,  who  can  study  the 
lives  of  Taylor  and  Butler  and  Swain, 
of  Thoburn  and  Collins  and  Hunt,  of 


Church  Union  and  Church  Extension  175 


Thomson  and  Coke  and  Cox — who  can 
study  these,  and  not  come  to  admire  and 
love  the  Methodists  ? 

Who  can  know  his  Siam  and  Syria 
and  Korea  and  Persia,  who  can 
read  of  Xevius  and  Good  and  Mackay, 
of  Morrison  and  Forman  and  Lowrie,  of 
Grant  and  Xewton  and  Paton — who  can 
know  of  these,  and  not  come  to  admire 
and  love  the  Presbyterians? 

What  a  loss  to  all  the  denominations 
tliat  they  do  not  study  the  great 
story  of  the  Moravians,  the  devotion  of 
Zinzendorf,  Stach,  Dahne,  Hartmann, 
Schmidt,  and  Dober,  the  work  in  Green- 
land, the  West  Indies,  and  the  "  Dead 
Man's  Land  "  of  South  America ! 

If  one  is  prejudiced  against  the  Episco- 
pal Church,  what  a  revelation  is  James 
Chalmers,  and  Henry  Martyn,  and  Regi- 
nald Heber,  and  Bishop  French,  and  Sel- 
wyn,  and  Patteson.  and  Crowther,  and 
Mackay,  and  Hannington — the  story  of 
New  Zealand,  of  New  Guinea,  of  Ugan- 
da, of  Tinncvelli ! 

If  one  is  ignorant  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  America,  what  a  happy  dis- 
covery is  Chamberlain,  the  Scudders, 
Cantine,  Zwemer,  Stone,  Abcel,  X^erbeck, 
Brown,  the  beginnings  in  Japan,  the  work 
in  Arabia !  \\'liat  an  introduction  to  tlic 
United  Presbyterians  is  Egypt!  And 


176  That  They  All  May  Be  One 


such  words  might  be  written  of  all  the 
long  list  of  denominations.  As  I  have 
studied  their  missions  I  have  come  to 
admire  and  love  them  all.  They  are 
worthy  of  better  things,  of  greater  tri- 
umphs ;  they  are  worthy  each  of  the 
other ;  they  are  worthy  of  union. 

But  suppose  that  only  the  Army  of  the 
Ohio  knew  of  Burnside.  that  only 
the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  knew  of 
Thomas,  that  only  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee  knew  of  Sherman,  that  only 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  knew  of 
Meade.  Suppose  that  the  story  of  Fort 
Donelson  had  been  confined  to  Tennes- 
see, the  story  of  Vicksburg  to  Mississippi. 
Victory  was  possible  to  the  Union  forces 
only  as  they  zvere  union  forces,  the  heroes 
and  triumphs  of  one  army  the  heroes  and 
triumphs  of  all.  A  tax  upon  the  memory, 
this  multiplicity  of  names  and  details? 
Ah,  such  taxes  are  more  necessary  for 
the  support  of  a  country  than  all  other 
imposts  combined ! 

Paton  is  Presbyterian  of  the  Presbyte- 
rians, but  in  reading  his  matchless 
autobiography  all  sects  are  one.  Chal- 
mers was  Episcopalian  through  and 
through,  but  his  martyrdom  united 
Christ's  followers  everywhere  in  a  com- 
mon sorrow  and  exultation.  Judson  was 
a  Baptist,  if  there  ever  was  one,  but  his 
career  is  the  pride  of  all  the  churches. 


Church  Union  and  Church  Extension  177 


Oh,  all  that  love  the  Lord  in  Bunker- 
ville  should  come  together,  to  in- 
spire one  another  with  all  that  each  can 
tell  of  Christian  service  in  any  field ;  and 
as  Lutheran  and  Disciple  and  Friend,  as 
High  Churchman  and  Low  Churchman, 
as  Cumberland  Presbyterian  and  Meth- 
odist Protestant  and  Free  Baptist  and  all 
the  rest  heaped  high  their  good  news 
upon  the  glowing  altar,  not  in  boastful- 
ness,  but  in  grateful  adoration,  then  for 
the  first  time  would  Bunkerville  hold  a 
missionary  meeting. 

AT  cither  for  these  only  do  I  pray,  but 
'  for  them  also  that  believe  on  me 
through  their  word;  that  they  may  all 
be  one ;  even  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  me, 
and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  in 
us:  TFL^T  THE  WORLD  MAY  BE- 
LIEVE THAT  THOU  DIDST  SEND 
ME. 

Brothers!  is  not  the  world's  belief  con- 
ditioned on  our  union?    In  that  lies 
the  deadliest  sin  of  sectarianism. 

For  still,  with  all  their  triumphs,  mis- 
sions move  so  slowly  !  Nineteen  cen- 
turies have  passed  since  our  Savior  bade 
His  disciples  go  into  all  the  world  and 
win  all  men  to  Him,  and  still  we  have 
only  one  soul  in  India  to  the  idols'  three 
hundred,  only  one  soul  in  China  to  the 
idols'  three  thousand ;  still  the  mission 
boards  are  sorely  lacking  money  and 


178  That  They  All  May  Be  One 


men ;  still  a  score  of  heathen  are  born 
where  one  is  born  again. 

I am  writing  to  those  who  believe  that 
Christ  knows  best,  that  when  we  go 
His  way,  and  not  till  then,  we  achieve 
His  success.  And  His  way  to  the  tri- 
umph of  His  Church  has  been  clearly 
pointed  out. 


this !  that  the  fire  of  missionary  zeal 
may  fuse  their  hearts !  that  in  humility 
and  loving  obedience  men  may  turn  from 
their  own  devices  to  Thine !  that  the 
world  may  believe  in  Thee,  the  whole 
rejoicing  world,  and  that  Thy  followers, 
even  in  this  day,  may  furnish  the  vic- 
torious argument, 


men  mav  come  to  see 


^bat  tbei?  all 
ma^  be 
one  I 


XVIII 


Church  Union  and  Patriotism 


HERE  are  ten  churches  in  Somer- 


ton,  and  there  are  twenty  sa- 


*  '  more  saloons ;  if  there  were 
fewer  churches  there  would  be  fewer 
saloons,  provided  the  fewer  churches 
meant  Church  union. 


i  twice  and  more  than  twice  as  many 
voters  as  each  of  the  saloons ;  but  the 
saloons  are  a  unit,  and  the  churches  are 
ten. 

The  more  patent  evils  that  exist  in 
the  State,  and  many  of  the  more 
sinuous  evils,  exist  by  virtue  of  a  di- 
vided Church.  "  By  virtue,"  did  I  say? 
By  the  vice  of  it  I 

But  I  hear  the  question :  "  How  would 
Church  union  unite  Christians 
against  the  saloon?  We  grant  their 
numbers,  and  their  power,  if  united,  to 
drive  the  saloon  from  the  land :  but  note 
the  diverse  and  mutually  hostile  tem- 
perance organizations,  each  loudly  as- 
serting its  own  way  of  combating  in- 
temperance to  be  the  only  right  way. 


more  churches,  the 


churches  contains 


179 


i8o 


That  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


and  denouncing  the  others  as  weak,  in- 
efficient, and  hypocritical !  Yet  all  are 
intensely  in  earnest  against  the  united 
foe.  Does  not  this  inveterate  confusion 
among  temperance  workers,  this  big- 
otry of  many,  this  unwillingness  to  work 
together,  prove  the  impossibility  of 
Church  union  ?  " 

No !  It  only  exhibits  on  another  stage 
the  baneful  spirit  of  sectarianism. 
The  very  pride  of  opinion  that  makes 
the  sects,  the  confident  exaltation  of  in- 
dividual "  conscience,"  the  refusal  to 
yield  preferences  and  adopt  another's 
mode,  this  that  is  thwarting  the  Church 
is  thwarting  reform.  Temperance  work- 
ers are  constantly  defeated  because  they 
are  sectarian. 

The  same  spirit  of  humility  and  love 
that  would  unite  the  sects  would 
unite  the  temperance  societies ;  the  same 
readiness  of  cooperation,  the  same  will- 
ingness to  acknowledge  wisdom  in  oth- 
ers, to  adopt  another's  method,  to  prefer 
others  to  one's  self. 

Each  temperance  organization,  indeed, 
is  only  an  attempt  at  Church  union, 
rendered  negative  by  the  absence  of  the 
spirit  of  Christian  unity.  Certain  fol- 
lowers of  tlie  Lord  said,  "  It  would  be 
grand  to  unite  all  Christians  against  the 
saloon  /;/  our  i<'ay,"  and  one  organization 
sprung  up.  Other  followers  of  the  Lord 
said,  "  It  would  be  grand  to  unite  all 


Church  Union  and  Patriotism 


i8i 


Christians  against  the  saloon,  in  our 
way,"  and  a  different  organization 
sprung  up.  And  so  on.  That  "  in  our 
tcay  "  vitiates  each,  as  it  so  largely  viti- 
ates the  sects. 

jC  ach  temperance  organization,  then,  is 
^  an  attempt  at  Church  union  along 
sectarian  lines ;  when  the  true  Church 
union  comes,  the  temperance  societies 
may  disband,  for  the  united  Church  will 
be  the  best  temperance  society.  And  it 
will  be  victorious. 

r\id  no  other  reason  urge  Church  unity. 


this  would  be  motive  sufficient,  the 
certainty  that,  if  Christians  once  learned 
to  work  together,  they  would  destroy  the 
saloon. 

Dut  this  plea  gains  instant  and  powerful 
^  reinforcement  from  all  other  reforms. 
Lust  is  an  evil  as  mighty  as  intemperance, 
and  far  more  crafty.  Against  it  also  an 
earnest  war  is  waged  by  groups  of 
Christians  here  and  there,  by  societies 
outside  the  churches,  whereas  the  only 
power  that  can  ever  break  through  and 
burn  in  purifying  fire  the  vast  network 
of  organized  licentiousness  is  the  power 
of  an  organically  united  Church. 


he  Christian  Sabbath  should  need  no 


*■  defense  save  the  arm  of  the  Church ; 
would  need  no  other  defense,  were  not 
that  arm  dissected  into  a  dozen  bleeding 
pieces.    But  here  and  there  are  groups 


l82 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


of  Christians  striving  in  societies  outside 
the  churches  to  do  what  Christ  certainly 
wants  His  Church  to  do,  preserve  for 
man's  uses  the  Sabbath  made  for  man. 
Never  will  the  Sabbath  inroads  of  greed, 
of  debauchery,  and  of  flippancy  be 
checked  till  the  members  of  Christ's  body 
are  reunited,  and  take  in  their  mighty 
hand  once  more  the  scourge  of  cords ! 


^  ligion  in  our  public  schools,  or  at 
least  their  preservation  from  irreligion. 
Here  and  there  parents  are  aroused  to 
see  that  godly  men  and  women  shall 
form  the  characters  of  their  children ; 
but  such  efforts  are  few,  feeble,  and  spas- 
modic. This  should  be  the  persistent 
concern  of  a  united  Church. 


waged  by  the  peace  societies  outside 
the  Churches,  to  the  shame  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  This  set- 
tlement of  disputes  by  preponderance  of 
cannon  rather  than  of  reason  and  right, 
this  organized  and  glorified  brutality, 
this  defiance  and  annulment  of  civiliza- 
tion, would  shrink  abashed  before  the 
indignation  of  a  united  Church. 

The  health  of  the  body  depends  upon 
the  harmonious  action  of  all  its  parts. 
If  the  lungs  refuse  cooperation  with  the 
liver,  the  heart  with  the  intestines,  the 
brain  with  the  foot,  the  body  is  clogged 


maintenance  of  re- 


the  war  against  war. 


Church  Union  and  Patriotism 


183 


with  waste  material,  and  is  poisoned 
throughout.  So  with  the  elimination  of 
waste  from  the  body  politic  and  the 
counteracting  of  its  poisons.  All  the 
forces  of  health  must  combine,  or  there 
is  no  health. 

nphe  bane  of  Church  disunion  is  seen 


i  in  the  social  life  of  every  village. 
Here  is  a  community  of  three  thousand 
souls.  If  it  is  to  be  sweet  and  pure,  a 
beautiful  sight  to  the  eye,  a  safe  place 
for  the  nurture  of  children,  a  good  spot 
for  business  and  a  sound  stepping-stone 
to  heaven,  only  the  determined  associa- 
tion of  all  that  are  godly  in  the  village 
can  bring  this  about  and  uphold  it 
through  the  years. 

Out  here  are  Methodists,  Baptists,  Pres- 
^  byterians,  Episcopalians,  and  Dis- 
ciples. And  the  Methodists  are  a  com- 
munity by  themselves.  And  the  Presby- 
terians are  a  sufficing  clique.  And  the 
Baptists  are  intimate  only  with  the  Bap- 
tists. And  the  Episcopalian  circle  is  un- 
broken for  outsiders.  And  the  Di.sciples 
know  none  but  Disciples.  Not  in  pride, 
necessarily,  still  less  in  hostility,  but 
through  indifference  and  the  force  of 
circum.stances. 

Cor  each  church,  with  two  services  on 
*  Sunday,  a  mid-week  prayer-meeting, 
business  meetings  and  .socials,  the  Sun- 
day-school and  young  people's  society 


Thai  They  All  May  Be  One 


and  other  organizations,  brings  its  mem- 
bers together, at  least  two  hundred  times 
a  year.  What  room  is  there  for  other 
associations?  What  chance  is  there  for 
the  formation  of  outside  friendships? 
Week  after  week  the  Methodists  see 
Methodist  faces  around  them,  hear  Meth- 
odist voices,  become  famihar  with  one 
another,  learn  to  love  one  another,  join 
families  by  marriage.  It  is  a  little  Meth- 
odist world,  quite  naturally  and  inevi- 
tably. Alongside  it  is  a  similar  Presby- 
terian world,  moving  in  another  orbit, 
with  another  center  of  attraction.  And 
a  Baptist  world.  And  an  Episcopalian 
world.    And  a  Disciple  world. 

It  is  otherwise  with  worldlings.  At  the 
dance-hall,  the  card-party,  the  theater, 
the  saloon,  in  the  alley,  on  the  back 
streets,  in  the  houses  of  ill  fame,  tiiere 
are  continual  chances  for  meeting,  for 
the  extension  of  ties,  for  the  multiplica- 
tion of  common  interests.  They  of  the 
slums  know  all  about  one  another.  They 
are  a  community.  The  churches  are  iso- 
lations. 

And  so  you  will  find,  over  and  over, 
the  forces  of  degradation  controlling 
a  village.  There  is  to  be  a  vote  on  no- 
license  ;  easily  and  exultantly  they  roll 
up  their  majority,  while  the  church  mem- 
bers look  on  in  dismay.  Selectmen  arc 
to  be  elected,  a  deacon,  a  minister,  and 
a  judge,  against  a  saloon-owner,  a  gam- 


Church  Union  and  Patriotism  185 


bier,  and  a  demagog.  With  a  series  of 
cheerful  grins  the  last  three  take  the  oath 
of  office. 

Now  and  then,  grown  desperate,  moved 
by  some  shameless  waste  of  money 
or  pandering  to  vice  or  outbreak  of 
crime,  the  Christians  get  together  and 
act  as  a  unit  for  the  purifying  of  the 
town.  The  gambling  hells  are  abolished. 
The  saloons  are  closed  up.  The  prosti- 
tutes are  driven  out  of  town.  Good  men 
are  placed  in  office. 

D  ut  the  saloon-keepers  only  wink  at  one 
^  another  and  whisper,  "  Wait."  The 
gamblers  only  say,  "  It  won't  last."  The 
prostitutes  only  say,  "  They'll  get  tired." 
And  it  all  comes  to  pass. 

/^hrist's  followers,  brought  together  by 


^  an  emergency,  are  not  held  together 
constitutionally ;  rather,  the  fundamental 
organization  of  the  churches  tends  ever 
to  pull  them  apart.  Only  the  permanent 
union  of  the  churches  will  provide  a  per- 
manent base  of  operations  against  the 
devil. 

j  I  ere  are  the  noble  Municipal  Reform 
^  *  Leagues,  and  other  bandings  together 
of  Christian  citizens  for  the  purification 
of  our  cities.  Every  one  of  them  is  a 
standing  protest  against  the  inefficiency 
of  the  churches,  a  standing  plea  for  a 
united  Church.  "  The  machine "  is 
united.   "  The  boys  "  pull  together.  "  To 


i86 


Thai  They  All  May  Be  One 


the  victors  belong  the  spoils  "  is  a  unify- 
ing slogan.  Nothing  can  neutralize  the 
elements  of  corruption  but  the  ele- 
ments of  righteousness,  by  organic  union 
brought  to  bear  against  them. 


*  Bureau  that  lives  and  works  through 
the  grit  and  grace  of  a  single  man,  the 
only  pretense  of  a  permanent  represen- 
tation at  our  national  capital  of  the  Chris- 
tian sentiment  of  our  country. 

We  call  this  a  Christian  nation,  but 
the  term  will  never  be  justified  un- 
til the  Christianity  of  the  nation  is  defi- 
nitely and  systematically  and  abidingly 
directed  upon  the  national  affairs.  And 
that  can  never  be  until  there  is  a  United 
Church  in  these  United  States. 

I   et  no  one  raise  the  bugbear  of  a  State 


^  Church.  What  is  needed  is  a  Church 
for  the  State,  not  a  Church  of  the  State. 
If  the  liquor-sellers  maintain  a  lobby  at 
Washington,  as  they  do,  the  consolidated 
Church  of  Christ  should  be  effectively 
represented  there.  If  Greed  has  a  hand 
in  the  making  of  party  platforms,  should 
not  Unselfishness  also  have  a  hand?  If 
the  churches  may  help  individuals  to  a 
better  life,  why  may  not  the  Church  help 
the  nation  to  a  better  life?  A  State 
Church  puts  the  seal  of  the  State  upon 
the  Church ;  I  would  put  the  seal  of  the 
Church  upon  the  State. 


Washington  is  a  Reform 


Church  Union  and  Patriotism  187 


So  long  have  Christians  thought  it  im- 
possible to  divest  religion  of  parti- 
sanship, that  they  believe  it  impossible 
for  the  Church  to  deal  in  politics  without 
becoming  partisan.  Church  union,  by  a 
compelling  illustration,  would  discredit 
that  objection  also. 

Sectarianism  and  political  partisanship 
are  birds  of  a  feather.  Your  typical 
Republican  believes  no  good  of  a  Demo- 
crat, nor  your  typical  Democrat  of  a 
Republican.  "Turn  the  rascals  out!" 
is  the  cry,  whichever  party  is  in  the  oppo- 
sition. No  credit  is  given  of  patriotism 
or  of  good  intention.  Principles  are  lost 
in  personalities.  "  In  honor  preferring 
one  another  "  is  never  the  motto  of  party 
platforms.  "  Hopeth  all  things,  believeth 
all  things  "  must  be  reversed  when  ap- 
plied to  the  mutual  relations  of  political 
parties.  A  good  measure,  proposed  by 
one  party,  is  opposed  by  the  other,  lest 
their  opponents  get  credit  by  it.  Politi- 
cal partisanship  is  sectarian  patriotism. 

Church  union  would  teach  a  truer 
patriotism,  a  patriotism  that  draws 
all  good  citizens  together  for  the  good 
of  the  city,  that  combines  all  true  patriots 
for  the  welfare  of  the  nation ;  a  patriot- 
ism with  convictions,  and  courage  to 
back  them,  but  also  with  humility  and  a 
sense  of  proportion,  with  the  willingness 
to  see  wisdom  in  others  and  to  yield  in 
non-essentials ;  a  Christian  patriotism, 


i88 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


abasing  self,  preferring  others,  living 
for  all.  When  this  spirit  gets  into  the 
sects  it  will  spread  from  them  into  the 
parties.  A  united  Church  in  danger  of 
partisanship  in  bettering  the  State?  It 
would  be  the  death  of  partisanship. 

The  Church  of  the  future  will  not  leave 
it  to  sporadic  groups  of  Christians 
or  of  non-Christians  to  conduct  social  and 
political  reforms,  thus  exiling  itself  from 
one  of  man's  deepest  interests,  and  thrust- 
ing aside  its  own  task  and  glory.  It  will 
train  its  own  young  in  the  high  duties  of 
citizenship,  not  leaving  their  civic  edu- 
cation to  chance,  to  secular  newspapers 
and  scheming  politicians  of  low  ideals. 
The  Church  of  Christ  in  Bunkerville  will 
be  a  civic  club,  united  in  seeking  the  best 
for  Bunkerville,  the  best  officers,  the  best 
laws,  the  best  execution  of  the  laws ; 
united  to  gather  information  and  spread 
it ;  united  to  nominate  good  men,  elect 
them,  and  support  them.  The  united 
Church  of  Christ  in  America  will  be  an 
organization  for  practical  patriotism, 
combining  for  Christly  service  the  Chris- 
tians of  all  parties ;  as  eager  to  write  a 
party  platform  such  as  Christ  would  ap- 
prove, as  to  write  a  temperaace  pledge 
or  a  sermon ;  as  eager  to  get  in  all  par- 
ties the  nominees  that  Christ  would  ap- 
l)rove,  as  to  get  men  into  the  prayer- 
meetings  ;  as  eager  to  fight  Satan  at  the 
polls  as  in  the  parlor. 


Church  Union  and  Patriotism 


For  the  Church  must  be  salt,  and  salt 
has  no  choice,  but  purifies  whatever 
it  touches.  And  it  must  be  light,  which 
makes  no  preference,  but  flashes  impar- 
tially in  all  directions.  And  it  must  be 
leaven,  which  permeates  all  the  measures, 
til!  the  whole  is  leavened. 

This  is  manly  work,  and  to  engage  in 
it  will  make  the  Church  manly.  It  is 
difficult  work,  and  requires  a  united 
Church.  It  is  unifying  work,  and  draws 
all  the  churches  together.  No  guerrilla 
bands,  however  numerous  and  deter- 
mined, can  win  a  great  battle ;  but  if  our 
Captain  takes  these  guerilla  sects,  fuses 
them  into  one  by  the  heat  of  His  ardor, 
and  hurls  them  as  a  single  crashing 
thunderbolt  against  the  adversary,  then 
in  the  joy  of  the  battle,  then  in  the  com- 
radeship of  daring  and  enduring,  then  in 
the  triumphs  as  they  swiftly  come,  we 
shall  know  the  wisdom  of  our  Captain's 
will  and  the  delight  of  His  answered 
prayer, 


^bat  tbe^  all 
mai?  be 
one. 


XIX 


The  United  Church  of  Christ 


|NCE,  for  a  few  supreme  days,  I 
wandered  among  cathedrals.  The 
visions  of  that  time  will  never 
leave  me,  but  evermore,  when 
my  spirit  is  at  peace,  a  pillared  strength 
surrounds  me  and  lifts  me,  and  far  over- 
head floats  the  segmented  ceiling,  God's 
ideals,  perfect  yet  incomplete,  springing 
and  growing,  the  solidity  of  stone,  and 
the  fluency  of  the  sky ! 


Each  cathedral  dominated  its  town. 
Seen  far  over  the  plains,  it  spelled 
the  town  in  a  character  of  glory.  Dwell- 
ings and  shops  and  factories  nestled  be- 
neath it.  Alind  and  eyes  were  ever 
drawn  toward  its  compelling  summits. 
In  slumber,  at  midnight,  one  felt  it  was 
there. 


I  knew  that  the  cathedrals  were  poor 
^  places  to  speak  in  and  hear  in.  I  knew 
that  they  were  cold  and  damp  and 
draughty.  I  knew  that  the  religion  they 
housed  was  often  formalism,  and  that 
often  my  Father  dwelt  more  delightedly 
in  some  crude  chapel  of  Dissent. 
190 


The  United  Church  of  Christ 


191 


But  the  cathedrals !  they  were  apart 
from  their  contents,  and  spoke  a  lan- 
guage all  their  own.  They  were  of  the 
fundamental  religion,  and  not  of  sect, 
whether  Established  or  Nonconformist. 
They  needed  not  to  apologize  for  the 
draughts  and  the  formalism,  as  Angelo's 
Moses  makes  no  apology  for  a  spider- 
web. 

And  I  think  that  the  Church  ideal  of 
all  devout  souls  is  the  cathedral  ideal. 

Religion  is  one.  It  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive two  cathedrals  in  a  town,  for 
neither  would  be  a  cathedral.  Though 
the  Church  of  Christ  in  Philadelphia 
needs  many  meeting-places,  the  Church 
must  be  one,  a  cathedral. 

Religion,  thus  one,  is  dominant.  It 
accepts  no  second  place.  Xot  a 
forty-story  building  may  rise  above  it, 
nor  the  highest  factory  chimney.  And 
only  a  imited  Church  can  win  this  domi- 
nance ;  only  a  united  Church  can  be  a 
cathedral. 

Religion  is  of  God  and  not  of  man. 
Nothing  is  more  striking  in  a  cathe- 
dral than  its  anonymity.  Great  paint- 
ings, great  sculptures,  great  poems,  are 
associated  with  the  names  of  their  mak- 
ers ;  but  never  great  churches.  Men  have 
builded,  many  men,  but  "  they  builded 


192 


That  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


better  than  they  knew  ;  and  the  world, 
as  they  wished,  has  accepted  their  work 
as  God's  and  has  forgotten  them. 

So  will  it  be  with  the  Church  of  Christ 
when  the  blocks  cut  from  Calvin's 
quarry,  and  Luther's,  and  Wesley's,  and 
Fox's,  and  Swedenborg's,  and  Chan- 
ning's,  and  Campbell's,  and  the  rest, 
come  together  in  the  one  Cathedral.  It 
will  be  anonymous  of  men ;  it  will  bear 
only  the  Xame  that  is  above  every  name. 

Religion  is  cosmopolitan,  universal.  In 
gazing  at  a  cathedral  only  a  pedant 
thinks  of  its  style,  analyzes  its  architec- 
ture, this  door  of  the  twelfth  century, 
yonder  tower  of  the  fourteenth,  here  a 
Norman  arch,  yonder  a  Doric  pillar,  and 
in  the  Lady  chapel  the  influence  of  the 
Gothic.  Beauty  is  one,  harmony  of  form 
is  one,  of  all  ages  and  manners. 

So  will  it  be  with  the  Church  of  Christ 
when  the  solvent  of  love  has  com- 
pounded our  forms  of  worship,  our  meth- 
ods of  work,  and  infused  through  all  our 
ways  the  rhythm  of  the  cathedral. 

Those  that  scout  this  as  impractical 
have  never  mused  upon  the  unity  of 
art,  nor  pome  to  realize  how  achievement 
in  one  sphere  is  promise  and  proof  of 
achievement  in  all  spheres,  and  least 
doubtfully  where  the  spheres  are  so  al- 
lied as  architecture  and  religion. 


The  United  Church  of  Christ 


193 


In  these  chapters  I  have  drawn  the  de- 
tails of  my  cathedral,  as  the  architect 
would  set  them  forth  on  separate  sheets. 
Let  me  try  to  combine  them  in  a  single 
picture. 

A  nd  first,  there  shall  be  in  every  vil- 


tion  of  a  city,  its  one  church  building. 
Xot,  as  now,  six  spires  all  leaning  apart, 
their  clashing  architecture  symbolic  of 
the  lack  of  spiritual  harmony,  but  one 
controlling  lord  of  the  landscape.  Xot, 
as  now,  six  meager  boxes,  of  board,  or 
seldom  brick,  or  still  more  seldom  stone, 
but  one  temple  of  the  One  God,  beautiful 
as  His  love,  permanent  as  His  power. 

It  will  not  be  too  grand  to  be  homelike, 
^  nor  too  familiar  to  be  inspiring.  It 
will  be  the  creation  of  a  new  architecture, 
lofty  as  the  sky,  tender  as  the  clouds,  in- 
timate as  the  sunshine.  It  will  lighten 
the  young  man's  eye,  and  little  children 
will  love  it.  Its  presence  in  the  town  will 
make  sordidness  ever  more  difficult  and 
infidelity  ever  more  monstrous.  It  will 
be  the  winsome  and  worthy  embodiment 
of  our  religion. 

It  will  be  modern  and  practical  as  well  as 
*■  anciently  beautiful  and  grand.  Fresh 
air,  and  warmth,  and  light,  easy  hearing 
and  comfortable  scats,  will  there  be  hand- 
maids of  the  Gospel.  The  great  audito- 
rium will  be  the  center  of  many  smaller 
rooms,  each  dedicated  to  a  joyful  duty. 


considerable  sec- 


194 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


It  will  be  the  House  of  God ;  it  will  be 
the  village  home. 

IV/f any  ministers  will  serve  therein,  each 
■''^  of  a  different  talent,  each  glad  of 
the  others'  gifts,  each  willing  to  be  last 
and  least,  a  brotherhood  before  which  all 
Christians  must  needs  be  brotherly. 

Thither,  in  the  unity  of  the  Spirit,  will 
come  all  that  love  the  Lord  or  seek 
the  way  to  Him.  Whether  they  will  still 
be  called  ^Methodists  and  Baptists  and  the 
like  I  do  not  know,  and  certainly  I  do  not 
care,  since  over  all  names  will  be  one, 
the  United  Church  of  Christ.  They  will 
not  have  broken  with  the  inspiration  of 
their  great  pasts,  but  each  will  have 
added  to  his  own  the  memories  and  in- 
spirations of  the  others. 

\  A  /  ith  the  love  that  seeketh  not  its 


"  '  own  they  will  have  built  up  a  form 
of  worship  wherein  all  devoutness 
dwells ;  the  Quaker  will  not  find  it  too 
ornate  nor  the  Episcopalian  too  bare. 
With  man  this  is  impossible,  but  not  with 
God,  when  man  worships  Him  in  the  one 
Spirit,  the  one  Truth.  It  will  be  a  re- 
membrance of  the  one  worship  of  the 
Temple.  It  will  be  an  anticipation  of 
the  one  ritual  of  heaven. 


Already  we  are  one  in  song.  The  hymn- 
books  are  a  standing  refutation  of 
the  sects. 


The  United  Church  of  Christ  195 


Already  we  are  one  in  the  Psalter ;  our 
"  responsive  readings  "  are  in  uni- 
son. 

A  Iready  we  are  one  in  the  Bible.  It 
^  has  never  been  found  necessary  to 
publish  a  sectarian  Bible ! 

Already  we  are  one  in  prayer.  Who- 
ever truly  prays  has  passed  beyond 
the  sects,  has  risen  above  the  fences,  de- 
fies the  classifications  of  the  theologians. 
Who  can  point  out  a  Baptist  prayer,  or 
a  Presbyterian? 

We  are  all  one  in  all  the  essentials  of 
worship,  save  the  spirit  of  love. 
When  that  comes  we  shall  scorn  the  non- 
essentials. 

This  united  Church  of  Christ  in  every 
village  will  be  the  home  of  all  that 
is  holy  and  strong. 

Its  vital  organization,  its  heroic  plan, 
*  will  appeal  to  young  men,  where  our 
sects  so  noticeably  fail.  They  will  join 
the  army,  when  it  becomes  an  army. 

It  will  be  a  university  of  the  Book,  as 
*■  every  church  should  be,  the  one  inspir- 
ing center  of  Bible  teaching  and  Bible 
study,  where  Bible  courses  will  be  given 
to  adequate  audiences,  and  where  the 
]>ible  lovers  of  the  whole  community 
will  share  their  discoveries. 


196 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


It  will  be  a  forum  of  theology,  where 
seekers  after  God  will  help  one  another 
in  the  search  ;  where  Baptist  will  be  eager 
to  communicate  the  truth  he  knows,  and 
eager  to  learn  what  truth  the  Methodist 
knows ;  where  the  pride  of  opinion  will 
be  swallowed  up  in  the  humility  of  a 
common  ignorance,  a  common  longing. 

It  will  be  an  exchange  of  experience,  an 

*  emporium  of  prayer,  whither  the 
strong  will  gather  to  serve  the  weak, 
and  the  trembling  to  be  comforted,  and 
the  doubter  to  be  assured. 

Tt  will  be  the  civic  conscience  of  the 

*  place,  the  reservoir  of  political  health, 
the  magazine  of  political  energy. 

As  it  will  not  live  for  itself,  it  will  not 
even  live  solely  for  its  town,  but  its 
lines  will  reach  out  through  the  nation 
and  all  the  earth. 

And  in  all  this  activity,  missionary  and 
civic,  Biblical  and  devotional,  pas- 
toral and  laical,  they  all  will  be  one,  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  and  Free  Methodist,  Gen- 
eral Council  Lutheran  and  Reformed 
Presbyterian,  Disciples  of  Christ  and 
Christian  Connection,  United  Brethren 
and  Friends  and  Moravians,  Free  Bap- 
tist and  German  Baptist,  Congregational- 
ist  and  Reformed  Episcopalian,  Baptist 
and  Presbyterian,  Reformed  Church  in 
the  United  States  and  Reformed  Church 
in  America,  General  Synod  Lutherans 


The  United  Church  of  Christ 


197 


and  Cumberland  Presbyterians  and  Unit- 
ed Presbyterians  and  Methodist  Prot- 
estants, ^lethodists  Xorth  and  South, 
Presbyterians  Xorth  and  South — alas, 
for  the  interminable  list ! — but  however 
the  united  Church  of  Christ  in  that  place 
may  be  constituted,  they  all  will  be  one. 

"T^hey  will  be  one  in  their  determination 


■»  to  do  the  will  of  Christ :  in  their  long- 
ing to  be  one,  since  that  is  His  will. 


hey  will  be  one  in  their  eagerness  to 


*  apply  the  precepts  of  Christ  to  bodies 
of  believers,  to  theological  cults,  as  well 
as  to  individual  believers,  in  honor  pre- 
ferring one  another  there  also,  seeking 
there  also  to  be  last  and  not  first,  to  bear 
one  another's  burdens,  to  hope  all  things 
and  believe  all  things. 


hey  will  be  one  in  their  allegiance  to 


*  conscience,  in  their  respect  for  one 
another's  consciences,  in  their  recogni- 
tion of  non-essentials,  and  in  their  per- 
ception of  the  truth  that  whatever  "  con- 
science "  parts  true  believers  in  Christ 
is  not  of  Christ  but  of  the  devil. 


hey  will  be  one  in  the  search  for  God, 


*  in  the  passion  to  know  Him,  the  truth 
about  Him,  the  whole  truth  and  all  sides 
of  it.  And  each  will  know  that  the  whole 
truth  is  too  large  to  be  caught  by  a  one- 
sided mind. 


198 


Thai  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


They  will  be  one  in  their  trust  of  truth, 
that  it  is  mighty  and  will  prevail ; 
and  in  their  trust  of  one  another. 

They  will  be  one — sole  secret  of  their 
peace  and  their  power — one  in  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  the  living  God,  who  will 
take  of  the  things  of  Christ  and  show 
them  to  them,  and  will  lead  them  into 
all  truth ;  not  one  into  one  truth  and 
another  into  another,  but  all  into  all 
truth. 

And  thus  there  will  come  to  pass  the 
united  Church  of  Christ. 

Out  I  have  pictured  a  local  church? 
^  I  have  not  outlined  the  wider  possi- 
bilities or  shown  them  to  be  possibilities? 
And  how  about  the  mission  boards,  and 
the  publishing  societies,  and  the  Sunday- 
school  secretaries,  and  the  denomina- 
tional colleges,  and  the  conferences  and 
councils  and  assemblies,  and  the  funds, 
and  the  bequests,  and — oh  ! — and  the 
theological  seminaries?  How  about 
these?  Will  not  my  air-castle  fall  to 
pieces  when  stretched  beyond  a  village? 

No !  the  crux  of  Church  union  is  the 
village,     li  the  spirit  of  it  enters 
there,  it  will  conquer  everywhere  else. 

For  the  heart  of  the  matter  is  there ; 
the  rest  is  but  administrative  details. 
Questions  of  law,  as  to  funds ;  ques- 
tions, perhaps,  as  they  are  learning  in 


The  United  Church  of  Christ  199 


Scotland,  of  the  "  dead  hand,"  and  of 
financial  martyrdom  for  the  sake  of 
Christian  brotherhood  and  present-day 
obedience  to  truth.  Questions  of  nomen- 
clature ;  and  Christians  will  not  long  let 
a  name  defeat  the  reality.  Questions  of 
method ;  and  where  there  is  a  will  to  do 
Christ's  will,  there  is  always  a  way. 

The  local  church  is  the  proof  of  it  all, 
the  model  for  it  all.  If  the  Sunday- 
schools  of  Bunkerville  can  form  one 
Bible  school,  Methodist,  Baptist,  Presby- 
terian, and  Lutheran,  a  union  Sunday- 
school  board  for  those  denominations  is 
possible.  Already  the  denominations  are 
beginning  to  combine  in  issuing  Sunday- 
school  papers,  greatly  to  their  improve- 
ment. When  did  a  controverted  dogma 
even  enter  a  Sunday-school  paper?  Al- 
ready our  Sunday-school  libraries  admit 
freely  the  books  of  all  publishers. 

After  the  local  churches  had  held  union 
missionary  meetings  for  a  year,  union 
boards  of  iriissions  would  be  not  only 
possible  but  inevitable. 

After  the  pastors  of  a  village  had  come 
together  in  a  union  pastorate,  the 
training  of  pastors  in  a  union  school  of 
the  prophets  would  seem  the  most  natu- 
ral thing  in  the  world.  Appoint,  if  you 
must,  your  professors  of  Calvinism,  of 
Methodism,  of  Congregationalism ;  but 
there  is  no  sect  jn  Hebrew  or  Greek,  in 


200 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


hyninod}-  or  elocution,  in  the  study  of  the 
practical,  main  work  of  a  pastor. 

I am  not  concerned,  therefore,  with  the 
national  and  world-wide  organization 
of  Church  union ;  I  think  that  most  dis- 
cussions of  the  subject  have  come  to 
naught  because  they  begin  there,  where, 
after  a  while,  but  not  now,  we  shall  glo- 
riously end. 

\  A/e  may  trust  the  leaders  of  the  de- 


^  '  nominations  to  crown  the  temple, 
if  the  local  churches  will  lay  the  foun- 
dations. They  are  wise  and  experienced 
men,  they  are  God-fearing  and  sincere 
men,  they  are  men  of  devotion,  and  will 
not  let  self  stand  in  the  way  of  the 
Kingdom. 

\AJ^  must  do  our  duty  before  they  can 


own  heart  the  United  Church  of  Christ, 
before  there  can  be  a  United  Church  in 
the  world.  As  we  live,  you  and  I,  neigh- 
bors of  difTering  opinion  but  the  same 
Christ,  we  must  unite,  before  there  can 
rise  in  the  earth  the  realization  of  our 
Savior's  prayer, 


Each  must  build  in  his 


Zlbat  tbe^  all 
mai?  be 
one. 


XX 


First  Steps 


THEREFORE  it  remains  to  ask 
how  we  may  go  to  work  upon 
this  United  Church  of  Christ — 
'  we,  humble  and  unknown,  with 
little  influence  and  power,  how  we  may 
acquit  our  consciences  in  this  great  mat- 
ter, lay  some  stone,  however  small,  upon 
the  one  Foundation,  and  become  found- 
ers, however  insignificant,  of  Christ's  de- 
sire. 


And  first  it  must  be  by  the  recognition 
of  this  desire,  and  acceptance  of  it 
as  our  commission. 

There  are  many  other  ways — alas ! 
many — in  which  we  are  not  doing 
His  will.  We  shall  come  to  them,  but  we 
shall  not  wait  for  them ;  we  shall  do,  and 
now,  this  one  thing  that  we  know  to  be 
His  will. 

nphat  commission,  proudly  and  unre- 
*  servedly  accepted,  will  enlarge  who- 
ever receives  it.  In  the  strength  of  it, 
by  the  authority  of  it,  you  will  dare  to 
speak  and  write,  to  combat  prejudices, 
face  majorities,  proclaim  the  Desire,  and 
wait. 


30I 


202 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


A  nd,  second,  it  must  be  by  individual 
action.  The  will  of  Christ  admits 
no  tarrying  for  other  men.  Whoever 
reads  it  must  run.  You  are  not  a  church 
ofificer,  but  in  the  ranks.  You  are  a 
church  officer  and  not  a  pastor.  You  are 
a  pastor,  but  of  a  humble  church.  You 
are  over  a  large  church,  but  you  are  not 
a  denominational  leader,  a  moderator,  a 
secretary,  an  editor,  a  bishop.  Well, 
what  of  it?  Christ  calls  not  bishops  or 
elders,  not  pastors  or  laymen,  but  souls. 
"  What  is  that  to  thee"?    Follow  thou 


Duty  needs  no  partner,  admits  no  part- 
ner. "  For  them  that  believe  on  me 
through  their  zvord  " — so  runs  the  pray- 
er. You  believe  on  Christ.  Upon  you, 
then,  to  the  limit  of  your  power,  rests 
the  responsibility  "  that  they  all  may  be 
one." 

A  nd,  third,  the  beginning  of  Church 


cality  or  in  the  wider  fTeld,  we  can  be- 
gin. Here  it  will  be  with  union  Bible 
schools ;  yonder,  with  union  prayer- 
meetings.  In  one  place  a  union  pastor- 
ate will  be  immediately  possible.  We  are 
beginning  to  see  union  denominations. 
We  can  trust  God's  leading,  if  we  will 
be  led.  We  can  trust  God's  continuing, 
if  in  the  right  spirit,  and  anywhere,  we 
will  begin. 


me. 


must  be  wherever,  in  each  lo- 


First  Steps 


203 


So  that,  fourth,  we  must  look  to  our 
own  spirits.  In  the  very  nature  of 
the  case,  Church  union,  the  destruction 
of  the  pride  of  opinion,  is  ruined  by 
pride  of  opinion  in  its  promoters.  It  is 
possible  to  be  a  very  bigot  in  denouncing 
bigotry.  Some  of  the  most  "  liberal  " 
theologians  are  the  narrowest  of  Chris- 
tians. "  Whosoever  shall  say.  Thou  fool, 
shall  be  in  danger  of  the  hell  of  fire." 

'T^he  warfare  against  sectarianism  may 
^  never  succeed  if  it  is  conducted  in  a 
sectarian  spirit.  Two  sects  may  even 
unite,  but  if  they  have  only  formed  a 
larger  sect,  where  is  the  gain?  It  is 
possible  for  two  poisons  so  to  come  to- 
gether as  to  make  a  healthful  liquid,  or 
a  more  virulent  poison. 

Consolidation  of  sects  will  never  bring 
it  about  "  that  they  all  may  be  one." 
It  is  conceivable  that  there  should  be  only 
two  sects,  and  yet  more  of  the  sectarian 
spirit  than  now,  each  sect  looking  only 
on  its  own  things,  preferring  itself  to  the 
other,  seeking  to  be  first  rather  than  last. 
And  it  is  conceivable,  tho  not  likely,  that 
we  should  have  as  many  denominations 
as  at  present,  yet  not  a  single  sect,  since 
all  the  Christian  bodies  would  be  mem- 
bers one  of  another,  each  bearing  the 
other's  burdens  and  fulfilling  the  law  of 
Christ. 


204 


That  They  Alt  May  Be  One 


"  Dy  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them." 

D  If  we  can  get  the  fruits  of  Chris- 
tian union,  we  shall  not  care  about  the 
shape  of  the  tree-trunk,  or  the  number  of 
branches. 

That  is,  if  two  churches  meet  together 
eagerly  and  happily  for  prayer  to  the 
one  Father. 

If  two  churches  long  for  opportunities 
of  discussing  Christian  truth  together, 
of  learning  from  each  other's  experi- 
ences, being  strengthened  by  each  other's 
faith  and  guided  by  each  other's  insight, 
and  make  those  opportunities  whenever 
they  can. 

If  two  churches  study  the  one  Book  to- 
gether, minister  together  to  the  poor, 
visit  the  prisoners  together  and  the  sick, 
train  the  young  together,  reach  out  to- 
gether into  the  nation  and  the  world. 

T  f  two  churches  bear  each  other's  bur- 
dens,  pay  each  other's  debts,  build  up 
each  other's  membership,  surprise  each 
other  with  unexpected  gifts. 

If  two  churches  praise  each  other,  re- 
joice in  each  other's  successes,  strive 
in  sincere  and  ardent  love  to  promote  the 
other  to  the  leading  place. 

In  fine,  if  two  churches  exhibit  with 
reference  to  one  another  the  same 
fruits  of  the  Spirit  that  two  Christian 


First  Steps 


205 


brothers  would  exhibit,  what  care  I, 
what  should  any  one  care,  about  the  out- 
ward form?  The  Savior's  prayer  has 
been  answered.   They  are  one. 

I think  that  two  such  churches  will  wish 
before  long  to  become  one  outwardly, 
for  the  sake — if  for  nothing  else — of  the 
effect  on  the  young,  the  unbeliever,  the 
heathen.    But  I  may  be  wrong. 

T  think  they  will  wish  to  lay  aside  their 
1  devisive  names  and  adopt  one  name ; 
but  I  may  be  wrong.  I  would  not  be  a 
bigot. 

I think  they  will  wish  to  devise  common 
methods,  that  they  may  work  together 
more  effectively ;  but  I  may  be  wrong. 
I  would  have  no  pride  of  opinion. 

I think  they  will  wish  to  delve  so  deeply 
and  persistently  into  the  one  truth,  the 
whole  truth,  that  they  will  see  eye  to  eye, 
having  one  faith  and  baptism  as  they 
have  one  Lord ;  but  I  may  be  wrong.  I 
would  not  be  a  sectarian. 

I think  that,  as  this  spirit  grows  among 
the  churches,  the  formation  of  the 
United  Church  of  Christ — in  Chicago,  in 
America,  in  the  world — will  be  inevit- 
able ;  but  I  may  be  wrong.  To  insist  on 
this,  or  on  any  similar  detail,  would  be 
to  fall  into  the  very  same  error  I  am 
combating. 


2o6 


That  They  All  May  Be  One 


We  may  think  as  we  please — rather, 
as  we  must — about  these  matters ; 
but,  brothers  beloved,  there  are  some 
things  we  must  KNOW. 

We  must  KNOW  that  our  precious 
Redeemer,  who  is  also  our  Judge, 
is  praying,  longing,  commanding,  that 
we  all  may  be  one. 

We  must  KNOW  that  His  will  is  our 
only  joy,  our  only  prosperity,  our 
only  safety. 

We  must  KNOW  that  now  is  the  only 
acceptable  time  for  doing  His  will. 

We  must  KNOW — each  of  us  must 
say  it  for  himself,    "  I,  I,  I  am 
Christ's  commissioner  for  Church  union." 

What  I  would  do  first,  if  I  were  a 
minister,  would,  I  think,  be  this. 
I  would  bring  together  my  brother  min- 
isters once  a  week.  I  would  make  a  be- 
ginning, tho  only  one  would  come  at 
first.  We  should  meet  on  "  Blue  Mon- 
day," and  make  it  Golden  Monday.  We 
should  meet  turnabout  in  one  another's 
studies.  We  should  tell  one  another  what 
we  had  preached  about  the  day  before. 
We  should  relate  our  successes,  and  re- 
joice together.  We  should  lay  our  per- 
plexities before  one  another,  and  counsel 
together.  Above  all,  and  often  amid  it 
all,  we  should  pray  together. 


First  Steps 


207 


nd  then  I  think,  if  I  were  a  minister, 


my  brother  ministers  of  the  village,  or 
of  the  city  district,  and  we  should  spend 
several  days  apart  with  God. 

And  then  I  think  I  should  go  forth — 
all  of  us  ministers  would  go  forth — 
two  by  two,  visiting  strangers,  summon- 
ing the  heedless,  comforting  the  sad,  up- 
lifting the  fallen. 

Those,  I  think,  would  be  my  first  steps, 
if  I  were  a  minister.    But,  being  a 
layman,  my  first  step  has  been  study. 

"  T/ now  thyself" — well,  we  know  that 
fairly  well,  we  denominations  ;  but 
how  poorly  we  know  one  another! 

Let  us  study  doctrines ;  not  to  prove 
that  what  our  Church  believes  is  the 
only  true  system,  but  honestly  to  put  our- 
selves in  the  place  of  other  denomina- 
tions, and  faithfully  to  compare  their 
reasons  with  our  own. 

Let  us  study  missions ;  not  to  brag  of 
our  denominational  superiority,  but 
to  learn  what  heroes  all  the  churches 
have  produced,  what  triumphs  all  the 
churches  have  won. 

Let  us  study  methods,  forms  of  govern- 
ments, diversities  of  administration, 
varieties  of  worship  ;  not  to  convince  our- 
selves and  others  that  our  way  is  best, 


once  a  year  with 


2o8 


Thai  They  All  May  Be  One 


but  to  recognize  the  excellencies,  perhaps 
the  superiority,  of  other  ways. 

Let  us  organize  conferences  for  the 
joint  study  of  these  subjects,  for  com- 
parisons that  are  pleasing,  for  appreci- 
ations, for  questions,  for  debate. 

And  then,  as  we  begin  to  know  one 
another,  laymen,  ministers,  denomi- 
nations, let  us  get  as  close  together  as 
our  consciences  will  let  us !  Let  us  mag- 
nify the  union  work  we  have,  and  con- 
stantly add  to  it.  Let  us  be  bold  to  ex- 
periment with  brotherhood — union  meet- 
ings of  all  kinds,  union  committees, 
union  sociables,  union  pastorates,  union 
publishing  enterprises,  union  missionary 
enterprises,  union  churches  and  denomi- 
nations. 

We  shall  make  mistakes ;  ah,  how 
many  mistakes !  We  shall  fail ; 
ah,  how  many  times  and  how  discour- 
agingly !  But  x"'^**^'  ^^'^  ^aXd  (good 
things  are  hard).  If  the  gem  is  readily 
polished  you  have  no  diamond.  It  is  not 
all  upward  in  climbing  a  mountain; 
sometimes  the  deepest  ravine  is  just  be- 
fore the  summit. 

We  shall  have  trials.  We  shall  be 
misunderstood.  We  shall  be  ma- 
ligned. The  weapons  of  schism  are 
sharp  and  poisoned.  But  so  was  He 
misunderstood  and  maligned,  so  was  He 


First  Steps 


thrust  through  with  venomed  spears  who 
prayed  that  they  all  might  be  one. 

His  will  be  done,  on  earth  as  in  heaven ! 
On  earth,  with  its  clashing  judg- 
ments, as  in  heaven  with  its  perfect  ac- 
cord. On  earth,  with  its  ignorance  of 
brothers,  as  in  heaven,  where  we  know 
and  are  known.  On  earth,  with  its  part- 
ed tabernacles,  as  in  heaven,  where  God 
is  the  Temple.  His  will,  which  is  peace 
and  joy !  His  will,  which  is  prosperity 
and  power!  His  will,  which  is  the  cli- 
max, the  glory,  the  perfection  of  His 
Church!    His  blessed  will, 


ITbat  tbeip  all 
mai?  be 
one. 


Date  Due 


— -M 

i  

